


Land of Dawn - Saya's Journey

by Gorkhawarlord



Category: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/F, LandOfDawn, MLBB, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, mobile legends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2020-05-31 16:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 66
Words: 197,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19429663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gorkhawarlord/pseuds/Gorkhawarlord
Summary: Hanabi is an aspiring kunoichi from the village of Iga. Her mission was to defeat the Akuma Ninja that had betrayed her village, but quickly learns just how under-prepared she is to face the world outside the walls of her village. There she meets Saya, a seemingly elf like woman with a mysterious past.Together they form an unlikely friendship as the two travels through the Land of Dawn in search of the Akuma Ninja but things get lot more heated when Saya seemingly attracts the attention of the Abyssal forces, especially the Queen of Apocalypse Alice herself. Things have been set in motion, a darkness rises in the shadows and the duo find themselves in the middle of it.Thus I invite you all readers to take a journey with our heroes as the duo faces countless challenges, meets new and exciting characters all the while getting stronger with each challenge because Hanabi clearly had not signed up for a grand adventure while searching for the Traitor ninja.





	1. Author's notes

## Author's notes

This is probably my first fanfic and my first story that is being out in the public so I will try my best. English is not my first language so please to ignore some of the grammar mistakes I will be making inevitably.

Mobile legends has been one of my most fav game in along time. its community is filled with lots of great people. This is but a small effort to help the community of the game that I so love dearly. Love and support to Moonton.

And also, in this story, i have tried to World building putting together the information i had collected form fandoms and hero backgrounds. The story will take place in Land of Dawn itself and not just the arena, so expect lots of oc and adventures.

Some aspects and behaviors of the heros might get OOC (out of character) at times but i will try to not deviate to much form canon.

Disclaimer:- all the characters form the game belongs to moonton and this is not a commercial story but just the work of a die hard fan.

Claimer:- the other characters which are not in game of mentioned are the characters that I may dare say are rightfully mine. Characters and concepts like Saya, Hrontre'haar and Maya are all part of a franchise that I've been working for the past six years. War of Existance (W.O.E for short) 

So this story is some what like a crossover.

(note:- updates can and will be slow, but please do be patient. I promise to finish this)


	2. Character Bio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick summary of the OC character that i will be using in this fanfic.

Character bio

This is to give a small info about the character that I will be using for this story. She looks like the pic I drew above (Not exactly the best but do bare with it please)

**Name:-** Saya Mahira

**Age:-** 40,000+

**Gender:-** female

**Race:-** Sai'ore

**Intro:-** Saya Mahira is the empress of an ancient and advanced race of humanoids called the Sai'ore. One of her parents was an immortal which gave her pseudo immortality, and the ability to use Maya (a type of energy that is found in all immortals, Maya is the life essence of immortal and can be used to do many constructive and destructive things) she has been ruling over the Sai'ore for over the past 40,000 years. Successfully form early medieval till past advanced age. She even witnessed the evolution of the two other races of their home world Siraya, the Vorkens (who are basically humans of Siraya) and Eunra, (large buffed tailed people with high tendency of violence) who later joined her empire as well.

Sai'oren history is littered with legends and stories of her deeds as she basically made the Sai'ore race what they are. They share extreme loyalty to her and thus she watches over them as her own children. However during war of the immortals, their world was caught in the crossfire of the two warring Immortal factions and Siraya was but one of the countless casualties between the fudge of the immortals. They had to abandon their world and go in search for a new one.

**Powers:-** Due to being able to manipulate Maya, she can use this maya to force her body to perform under harsh conditions. She can increase her own metabolism at and alarming rate, forcing her body to work more efficiently, i.e, she can literally force her body to be stronger, faster and heal by the will of her mind. This makes her impervious to fatigue and heal almost instantaneously and gain immunity to effects aging. Although side effects are extreme cased of hunger.(Note that food is not required by her body to really make the required energy. Maya is the purest form of energy and can be derived form breaking down of any matter made up of fundamental units) Due to her age, her experience in warfare itself is nearly unmatched by most mortals. And can only be out shined by immortals.

However, she still has a body of a mortal thus he body has its limitations. Things like sensory over load and emotional attacks are her weak points. Having lost all of her family members, like father, husband, wife (Yes, she swings both ways) children, grandchildren and other blood relatives, to the effects of time. (for she lives on and they would pass away.) Saya has developed a deep fear of getting close to someone, and when she does, she will protect them jealously. Going to any lengths to do so.

She excels in sword fighting. With her main weapon being Hron'trehaar the legendary sword, by which she can dish out extremely destructive attack. Her healing powers makes it so that she can go all out without any regard of her own safety. She is very skilled in unarmed combat as well, having mastered many fighting techniques over her very long life. Her personal favorite being a form of wrestling which is heavily inspired by Indian Khusti. Her skills with a ranged weapons, be it guns or bow and arrow, is fairly above average. Not distinct but not shabby either. Another exceptional skill of Saya is her knowledge in medical field. Sai'oren custom makes it compulsory for warriors to learn at least some basic knowledge about healing. And over the course of thousands of years, Saya has mastered this art as well, thus she can heal wounds as much as she can inflict them.

There is another power she posses, but Saya rarely uses it. Immortals can manipulate their Maya energy for attacks and defense. But higher tier Immortals can also give Maya a physical form to produce ethereal weapon extensions, which are very deadly and destructive for both mortals and Immortals. Saya can form ethereal snakes from the Maya in her body by using the same technique, but she doesn't use this power too much. Why? you will have to read to find out. 

**Character:-** Saya had been alive for a very-very long time. This has caused her to develop not only unmatched skills and wisdom, but it has also caused her to evolve a very complicated character.

Normally, Saya is calm and patient woman, who knows when to use words and when to use force. Years of trials has made her strong and firm, with wisdom which came from ages of experience. She is proud and regal, with an aura the demanded respect and awe with her sheer presence. Like any royalty.

But another side of her can be warm and caring in an unlikely motherly way, even if it can be a little stern.

This strangeness in her behavior has a big reason.

Her reign over the Sai'ore had not been smooth and over the course of time, she had to adapt to many roles as per the situation demanded. Over generations, she had been described as many things. A protector. A destroyer. A benevolent ruler and also A tyrant. 

This is the reason why she can seemingly change demeanor in a blink of an eye. One moment she is caring and kind, but the next moment, she can be cold and ruthless. As if many personalities reside within a single body.

But one thing everyone would agree on is the fact that she is the undisputed ruler of Sai'ore kind and she will look after them weather they like it or not. 

Quite OP I na?

okay, so with out further delay, let the story begin.


	3. Arrival

***Note*- I have purposefully made this chapter longer as i have to introduce you (The Reader) to my main character and I have to make sure that the story solidifies its ties to Mobile Legends by introducing another main Character of the story,i.e. Hanabi. So please bare with me and read the full chapter, later chapter's will be shorter.**

Fate is an unruly thing. One cannot truly predict what lies in their fate as it is uncertain, tending to change almost at blink on an eye. One can never truly be prepared for what fate will have in store for them. It is unstable and mischievous by nature, which can and will often lead to..............disastrous outcomes.

Such was the predicament the Sai'ore faced when they had least expected. Although the alien race form the now decimated world of Siraya had managed to survive, they had done so by many sacrifices and grave losses. But the joy of surviving the inevitable had left them blind. In their joy, they couldn't foresee the danger that loomed ahead.

The Kastiyans, a race the Sai'ore believed to have been long extinct, attacked them.

Although the Sirayans had more advanced technology then the Kastiyans. The Sirayans were still recovering for the huge blow they had suffered after the decline of their home world. Their numbers were thin, they were wary and tired. Which gave the Kastiyans a significant advantage. Times were troubled and the people looked for guidance from their Empress.

Saya Mahira, the Immortal Empress of the Sai'ore tried her best. Rallying whatever forces that she could gather, she organised a hasty counter attack against the assailing Kastiyan armada.

Eons of experience and wisdom were evident as the Empress was able to turn the tide of the battle to their favour within a matter of minutes. The Sirayans rejoiced, for their Empress had done to once again. They counter attack had left the Kastiyan forces into disarray .She had saved them from certain annihilation. Victory seemed certain for as long as their queen watched over them, the Sirayans were invincible.

But, Alas. Fate is a sadistic entity.

A concentrated beam of a plasma ray tore through the hull of the Royal Battle Dreadnought, courtesy of a Kastiyan Battle ship. Weather it was intentional or pure fluke, it mattered not. Saya stumbled as her entire space shuttle shook violently. The monitors blared red as the control bridge was filled with panicking crew.

 _"We are hit!"_ one of them shouted in Sai'oren tongue.

The rest of the Sirayan fleet retaliated but the Kastiyan's sole target seemed to be just her ship. They fired again. The ship shook even more and explosions could be felt throughout the ship.

_"The Amber stone drives are down!"_

_"Engines are failing!"_

Saya gritted her teeth gripped her legendary sword tighter. She had no other choice but to use its power once again. Hron'trehaar, the name of the sword she held in her hand. The same sword, by which she had made and decimated empires, was now probably their only hope for survival. Taking a deep breath, as she prepared herself to use its power, something she did only in times of great need, and now was the greatest need ever.

The Empress got into a stance. Tapping into her immortal heritage, Saya summoned the powers of the mighty sword and slowly unsheathed the sword. The technique she was doing needed extreme concentration and power, thus she was very careful with it. She had one chance and Saya wasn't going to miss it. The Void like black metal of her sword flowed chaotically at her whim. Now was he chance, Saya could end this once and for all................... But another beam hit them.

This one successfully separated the control bridge form the rest of the ship, causing Saya to cancel the attack pre-maturely and she missed.

As if an airlock had been opened, everyone in the room was sucked into the empty space and to their brutal demise. The Sirayans watched in utter horror and disbelief as their Empress's ship lied in ruins. And with it died their hope.

The last thing Saya saw was the burning remains of her ship and an armada of Kastiyan Battle ships descending down on her people.

Helplessly, she floated in the vacuum before she succumbed to fatigue and darkness surrounded her.

\---X---

A mighty gasp was the first thing she did as the world of the living greeted her again. Pain coursed throughout her body as she made an effort to sit up. Looking down her body, Saya noticed that her armor was ruined. Breast plate and pardons were shattered, the inner protective mail seemed to have melted and dug right into her flesh, but it did protect her body form being completely incinerated.

Holding her breath, she held the now useless armor and heaved. A sharp cry of pain followed as Saya ripped the still hot, metal pieces of her armor form her body. Leaving fresh wounds which healed instantly and painfully because of her healing factor. With that out of the way , Saya proceeded to removed other shrapnel's and bits of scraps which were still embedded on various parts of her body.

Hearing an explosion, Saya quickly looked up. Her eyes widened as burning hull of a Sai'oren space ship fell down from the sky. The gravity of the unknown planet pulling the ship right off the orbit as the atmospheric friction turned the once glorious Sai'oren ship into a ball of fire.

Its descend ended when it collided on the hard surface. The collusion send a tremor, shaking the very land she stood on, even if the ship crashed several hundred meters away from her. it filled her with fear, but it was nor for herself. Groggily she stood up and made her way towards it.

When she reached the crash site, her heart stopped. It was awful. Nothing was left in its wake, except for debris and bodies of her people. Her children.

Shell shocked, Saya stumbled towards it, her gaze meeting many bodies, either crushed or burned. A small cough echoed admits the atmosphere of death and despair. With a new hope and vigor, She rushed towards it and searched for its source.

There she was, a lone surviving Sai'oren Soldier. Saya made her way towards her and cleared the debris away from her.

Coughing violently, the soldier spoke weakly, _"W-who's there?"_

 _"Hush, now child. You're safe."_ Replied Saya soothingly.

Realizing who her savior was, the soldier tried to stand up immediately, _"M-Mahajani...?"_ but alas, she couldn't. **(Mahajani is the Sai'oren word for Empress or Queen)**

Saya helped her down and spoke sternly, _"At ease Child. Do not strain yourself."_

The soldier sulked down in defeat and spoke, _"Forgive me, Meha Mahajani...... I am useless to you."_

 _"Don't say such things......Tell me your name Child."_ Asked Saya while trying to treat the soldier's wound's with an emergency kit she had salvaged from the debris.

A wave of honor coursed through the soldier and she whispered with a soft smile, _"Samahi."_

Saya nodded, _"Have will Samahi. You'll be well."_

The soldier smiled weakly, _"It's not fair.....How much you do for us all, yet how little we can do for you.."_ Samahi spoke between coughs. Blood dripping down the corner of her mouth. It was clear she had very grave internal injuries _, "I will not survive this."_

Saya's rational side knew this. She knew that the soldier before her wouldn't survive, yet for some reason she didn't wanted to believe that. _"Don't speak so Child, I will not let anything happen to you!"_ She said passionately, making Samahi pause for a while. Oh how she wanted to believe her Queen right now , but reality is cruel. There were many things that are away form even Saya's power and death was one of it. A sad smile graced Samahi's lips. Slowly and gently she touched Saya's hand. The Empress immediately held back tight, _"It was an honor to serve you....Great Mother.."_ and with it, the life in her eyes faded.

Saya hung her head in sorrow, she closed Samahi's eyes and laid her to rest. _"Be in peace now.......My Child."_

Many moments passed by in silence. That was until Saya saw something bright in the sky. She looked up and her heart fell more.

More debris were falling down from above. The Sky was painted bright and red by the burning debris which fell at great speed. She felt as if she could still hear the screams of her people from the burning ships that fell from the heavens.

She heard statics form nearby and quickly made her way towards it. Reaching the remnants of a Control bridge of the ship. Saya found a small radio transmitter, which was still functioning.

Saya tuned the frequency and was suddenly hit by a volley of sounds. Mostly gun fires and horrified screams.

_"This is the Western defense lines! Can anyone hear us? We are taking heavy fire from all directions!"_

Saya immediately tried to answer but to her horror and despair, the microphone was damaged, meaning she could only hear what they were speaking and not the other way around.

_"Negative West Defense line, East and North are still pinned!"_

Saya cursed.

Then came more screams and occasional curses in the guttural Kastiyan language.

_"They are boarding!"_

Having enough, Saya tried again, _"Can anyone hear me?"_

Still no answer. The words which came next stunned Saya the most, _"The Civilian Vessels are under attack!"_

Screams and cries of innocents followed and all she could do was fall to her knees.

More flaming debris fell from the sky as Saya let out a sorrowful scream. The ruthless Kastiyans slaughtered her children................and she could do nothing.

(imagine this music as the Kastiyans commit Sirayan genocide)

\---X---

She knew not how long it had been since she was stranded on this new world. How long since her kind was exterminated by those cruel Kastiyans.

She knew not how long would she be staying like that, staring into the heavens, thinking about all the lost souls of her children. Finally gathering her bearings, she did the only thing that came to her mind.

Saya gave Samahi a proper traditional Sai'oren burial. Soon all the other bodies were also given proper rites.Even when many amongst them were Vorken and Eun'ra. It took her a whole week to bury them all. Saya knew many of them and couldn't help but sorrow overcome her.

The truth was cruel. Her people.................... were gone. Her children were gone. All that was left was her. Alone in a foreign world.

 _"Is this how you felt like Desmus."_ She mumbled to herself, thinking about her old friend. She had no idea what to do. Death was something she was accustomed to. She herself had witnessed countless loved ones wither away in time, but never had she felt so lost. With no one left she was now an Empress of a dead empire . With no goal to strive for. So she just.......walked forward.

Time was meaningless to Immortals and so it was meaningless for her as well. She didn't keep track of time and just kept walking forward through the forest area. Had she been alert, she would've marveled at the lush greenery of the Alien forest surrounding her. Filled with life and radiance, a far cry from the frozen lands of Siraya. But Saya could care less. She just walked forward.

No hope, No goal, No destination, she just...........wandered.

That was the her destiny now. That was her fate. But as said earlier....Fate is an unruly entity. It changes in a blink of an eye. Thus, perhaps they were fated to meet on that day.

Days passed by as Saya walked aimlessly through the forest. However, her ears perked up as she could hear something in a distance. The former Empress looked around as her sharp pointy twitched trying to pick up sounds.

Hurried footsteps . It was unmistakable. And it seemed to be coming her way. Saya turned towards the direction of the footsteps and braced herself. The bushes before her started to rustle, signalling that whatever it was, it was coming her way. _"First contact with an off world species in millenniums ."_ She humored herself. Suddenly something or more specifically, someone burst out of the bush. What Saya saw surprised her.

There before her, stood a creature. It looked hauntingly like a Vorken with core difference being the skin having a strange peach like color instead of white like herself and many Vorkens she met. It appeared to be a female, judging by the shape of the body. It, or rather she, wore clothes (proving that the alien before was sentient ). The clothes appeared to be a black eastern robe with red accents. A huge rope was tied around her waist like a ribbon, making it an unlikely belt. She also had bracers made of layered plates for armor on her arms and hips. Legs were covered with a tight long red socks and black slipper like foot wear.

What caught Saya's attention that most was the fact that the girl before her had an excessively large Chakram on her back.

The Sai'ore now looked at the girl's face. She had raven hair, pulled back into a ponytail with two bangs framing her face. Saya couldn't really make out the female's face as half of it was covered by a tight mask. She could however read shock in the girl's deep blue eyes, which in Saya's opinion were beautiful.

None were able to form proper words as both of them just stood in an uncomfortable silence.

That all changed when the bushed behind them rustled once again. Grunts and growls could be heard from there. Soon a new creature came out of the bushes, leaving Saya astonished.

Never had she seen such ugly creature in her life and that was saying something.

Dirty green skin, deformed hunched body, long pointy ears and mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth. Small yellow eyes and a large crooked nose. Fancying various bones and feathers as ornaments with only a piece of loin covering their decency. Saya had to use much of her willpower not to double over and empty her stomach as its pungent smell invaded her sensitive nose.

Whatever they were, they certainly didn't look friendly.

Although the other girl's face was masked, the worry in her eyes were evident. Saya could pick out a single word that escaped her mouth, "Goblins."

These 'Goblins', as the Vorken-like-girl said, let out a howl and more of its kin came out of the forest. Soon they found themselves surrounded.

Wearing little to no armor and sporting clubs and stone axes as weapons, these primitive creatures would've been no problem with a Sai'oren plasma rifle, but their numbers were overwhelming.

Saya let out a low hiss and reached for her sword, only to realize that her sword, Hron'trehar was not with her. It must've slipped away from her grip when she had fallen from the orbit causing her to curse her luck.

That sword was her main weapon and source of most of her power. A signifier of her rule over the Sai'oren Empire and perhaps the only proof of her people besides herself. Without it, her powers were considerably lower.

Letting out a war cry, the goblins charged towards them. Saya blared her fangs in defiance and prepared for a fight.

That was until the girl suddenly rushed before her, stopping Saya in her tracks.

The girl took out the Chakram off her back and held it in her hands. The Sai'ore would've questioned the girl but to her surprise, the girl threw the chakram skillfully towards a goblin.

It easily cut through its unprotected skin and it fell down lifelessly on the ground. It was impressive but a stupid move, for now the girl was practically unarmed. Or so Saya thought.

The Chakram..............bounced off the Goblin and struck another one near it, killing it as well. Then it bounced across three more Goblins before spinning back to the girl's hand, shocking Saya to her core. The cocky smirk on the girl was clear as day, even through that tight mask of hers. This Saya caused to narrow her eyes and scoff, _"Showoff."_

She was soon brought out of her trench when she heard a yell. Some of the goblins had come too close to her liking and she was forced to act. Saya tilted her head out of way of a club which was aimed at her head. Facing the goblin who had attacked her, Saya realized that these creature were much smaller than her. Standing a little over five feet, smaller then her impressive six feet eight inches. So using that to her advantage, she shoved the creature away with ease.

Another made its attempt on her with its axe. But Saya proved to be far quicker and stopped the attack by holding on to its wrist. The Sai'ore elbowed the goblin in the face, causing it to double over and let go of the axe. Saya quickly snatched the crude weapon and smashed it on the goblin's skull and a sick crack could be heard. Pulling the axe out with a heave, Saya got ready for more fight. Her sword may not be with her but that didn't meant she was helpless.

In a fit of rage, more of the green skinned creatures attempted to butcher her, but Saya effortlessly danced away from their attacks while constantly quelling their numbers with counter attacks. It was almost too easy for her.

One of them wanted to sneak behind her. Saya had seen and smelled it coming from a mile away. However before she could turn her attention towards it, a familiar charkram soared through the air and hit the Goblin, putting it out of its misery. The chakram bounced towards more goblins, killing them as well before going back to the hands of its owner.

Although unnecessary, Saya appreciated the support and nodded in the girl's direction in respect. The girl nodded back and threw her chakram once again, killing dozen more goblins before returning back. It amazed and confused Saya to no end as the weapon practically didn't followed the laws of physics.

The Sai'ore shook her head and focused on her own battle.

Goblin's forces were thinning out fast due to the combined efforts of Saya and the Vorken-like-girl.

Victory was assured. However, the goblins suddenly stopped their attack. This made Saya a bit confused as to why would they do such a thing. Her question was answered abruptly. Loud thumping was heard, as the goblins looked around frantically. Heavy footsteps lumbered towards the clearing from the forest, putting Saya on edge. A hulking figure came through the forest and made its presence known.

It looked like a Goblin but it was far bigger than its shorter kin. Standing at an imposing height of seven feet, it was actually wearing an armor, abet crudely made one. Wielding actual metal weapons, probably looted, a long sword and a spear. The girl cursed in her own native tongue (Japanese but Saya doesn't it) and spoke, "Hobgoblin."

Saya knew not the significance of the name. It must have been a sub-species of the goblin race but one thing was for sure, the hobgoblin was hostile. It roared loudly at them while the rest of the goblins cried in joy, rejoicing at his arrival.

The Sai'oren empress held her axe tighter, ready to fight. The girl, however beat her to it and had already charged towards the creature. It was a reckless move and she paid for it. When the girl threw her chakram towards the hobgoblin, it raised its sword and deflected the attack, shocking both of them by its unlikely skill and intellect. The chakram harmlessly fell down on the ground, leaving the girl unarmed. The Hobgoblin then charged forward, intending to finish the girl in one sweep. Saya acted on instinct and yelled, "Oi!"

The girl abruptly turned towards her. The Sai'ore threw her the only weapon she had towards the girl. She did managed to catch it but this proved little to no use. The girl was clearly not used to use an axe like a weapon.

The Hobgoblin came closer the girl and so in her defense, she tried to swing the axe towards the creature. Her frail and thin looking arms was simply not used to generated enough momentum to deliver enough punch to actually do some damage. Her attack bounced harmlessly off its armor. The Hobgoblin let out a guttural laugh at the pathetic attack. It got on her nerves and she tried again. The hobgoblin had decided to quit playing and stopped the attack with a simple flick of its sword.The axe was thrown out of the girl's grip but she didn't get much time to ponder on it as the green skinned creature kicked her away.

Saya had guessed by the size of the body that the Hobgoblin would be strong, but never had she expected that it would actually be strong enough to sent the Vorken-like-girl tumbling away a good ten feet and make her smash her into a tree. The girl was seemed hurt very badly as she tried to gasp heavily for air. Saya grimaced, knowing that such an attack must've damaged some ribs. And that was without considering the possibilities other internal injuries. The girl was barely holding herself. The hobgoblin lumbered its way towards her with a sinister look in its face.

She might have not known the young girl for long but one thing was for sure, Saya couldn't let her go down like this. Not when she was there. Her pride as a warrior demanded it. It demanded that she protect the weak and thus she shall.

The girl was certain that her life's journey would come to untimely end by the hands of this cruel abomination. The Hobgoblin lumbered towards her with heavy steps. It raised its spear to impale her. It would have, had not Saya dashed towards the hobgoblin and shoulder bashed him to the ground. Shocking both the said Goblin and the girl.

With the immediate danger out of the way, Saya turned to the girl and asked, "Keha meta salaku ha?"

With translated into, 'Are you well?' but Saya completely forgot that the girl before her might not understand Sai'oren. But before Saya could correct herself, she was violently pushed down on the ground. The hobgoblin had recovered and was already on to her. That's the reason why Saya found herself pinned down by the repulsive creature. It roared at her face as it tried desperately to stab her in the chest with its sword. Saya gritted her teeth as she kept the Hobgoblin form stabbing her by holding him off. It was far stronger than she had anticipated. Having no other choice, Saya used maya to boost her muscles. The immortal energy forced her muscles to work to its maximum limit and it proved to be enough to push the huge creature off her body. Tough it did took toll on her body as her arm muscles were torn due to over exertion. However the maya in her body forced the muscles to heal itself in a matter of moments and Saya was ready for more action. Her immortality may be a curse in long term but it was boon in fights like these, she could easily outlast her opponents.

Still dazed, the hobgoblin slowly started to stand up. Taking no chances, Saya charged towards it and shoved it back on the ground. The two wrestled a bit on the ground. The Hobgoblin was stronger even when Saya was pushing her muscles to its limit. But she had more experience as she skill fully pinned the creature down in a head lock. Using the strength of her entire upper body, Saya bared her teeth in effort as she started twisting the hobgoblin's head. She intended to break its neck and kill it instantly but it was harder than excepted. This creature was unbelievably tough.

In a desperate attempt to save itself, the hobgoblin tried to take a hold of Saya. But she was quite persistent as well. But suddenly the goblin buried its sword into her chest, piercing right through her collar bone. More out of shock than pain, Saya briefly loosened her hold around the hobgoblin's neck which was all that it needed to break free from her hold and kick her away.

Saya gasped as she could feel blood pour in and out of her body. The sword had punctured her lungs for every time she drew breath a sickening wheezing sound could be heard. A couple of feet away, the hobgoblin was holding its neck and coughing violently as he had been deprived of air for too long. It then turned towards Saya's form a few feet away and roared bloody murder. Stomping towards the woman who nearly killed him, the hobgoblin growled and run its spear through Saya's abdomen.

The rest of the goblins roared in pleasure. The masked girl was shouting towards her. Saya couldn't understand her but her tone was that of horror and worry. As for the hobgoblin, it smiled cruelly down at her.......................... and Saya didn't like it. She held firmly at the wooden shaft of the spear.

Seeing as the woman before it still had some fight left in her, the hobgoblin laughed cruelly and tried to pull the spear back. Tired. When the woman didn't let go, the goblin looked down at her in the eye and growled. However when she looked up, the hobgoblin paused. There was no pain, no anger, nor fear in her eyes. Just annoyance. Something that he had never expected. Growling at her arrogance, the hobgoblin tried harder to yank the spear out but Saya suddenly kicked him. He was sent skidding for a good distance. Her defiance must've angered the creature as it roared in anger. However its anger turned into astonishment as Saya casually pulled out the spear out of her body. Blood poured out like stream form the gaping hole in her body but still her expression was indifferent. As if she didn't care. Then to all of their shock and horror, the hole closed instantly and healed without leaving a single mark.

The goblin's cheers died down at this as they looked at her with unease and wonder. Saya looked the hobgoblin in the eye and threw the spear back to him. Then she proceeded to remove the sword from her body that she had nearly forgotten about and examined it. A typical straight long sword with wide cross guard and a circular pommel. Not the type of sword she preferred but better far than the stone axe.

The hobgoblin had taken the gesture as a challenge and picked up the spear. With a war cry it charged recklessly. Saya could end it right there but she thought against it. They were being watched by a huge group of goblins, all eager to watch the duel between her and their leader. So if she wanted to make her point clear, she would have to set an example.

Saya could see why this hobgoblin was revered as a leader by the goblins. It was quite skilled for a creature of such status. Using well thought strikes and attacks, she even wondered how far it could've gone if it was to be taught under proper care. With its abnormal strength, the hobgoblin would've been a monster in the battle field but alas it was no match for her. With 40,000 years worth experience under her sleeve, it was no challenge for her. Yet she didn't kill him out right. With a sword in her hands, the hobgoblin was practically helpless. All his attacks were useless as Saya would easily parry, block or dough it with easy. This was to show how unmatched he was. Then she would intentionally leave herself open to give the hobgoblin a chance to strike, which proved useless as she would heal instantly. This was to show that he had no way to pose any real threat to her. She was merely toying with him and he was powerless.

The hobgoblin fell on his knee, panting heavily. He was too tired now but Saya was still fine. The maya inside her body will not allow her to be tired. She walked over to him with a hard look. The creature sighed and tried to stand up but he was too tired. He tried to pick up his spear but Saya kicked it away from his grasp and pointed the sword at him. Knowing that death was inevitable, the hobgoblin closed its eyes and accepted its fate.

It was so simple. To just kill the creature and be done with it. But still Saya just looked at the hobgoblin. She had no idea why was it that a sudden sense of remorse filled her heart. Was it because of the some good in her heart, or was it due to all the people she lost in a matter of moments, she didn't knew. But Saya decided that she had her fill of bloodshed. Saya lowered her sword as everyone else looked at her with shock and confusion. Especially her opponent. Looking at the hobgoblin in the eyes, she spoke, or commanded, _"Leave this place."_

The Hobgoblin may not understand her words but her will was known and carried out. The Hobgoblin slowly stood up and limped away. The rest of the goblins carried their dead and scurried away with the hobgoblin, deeper into the forest.

Saya let out a breath in relief as the danger was gone. However her attention was drawn to other girl for whom she was originally fighting for. Wasting no time she made her way towards her.

The Girl had backed up against. She was injured and had bled quite an amount of blood. She seemed barely conscious and was holding on to her life by a thin thread. Saya placed her sword down on the ground and checked on the girl. She seemed weak. Gone was she previous peach like color and was replaced by a more paler color, which Saya feared was not a good thing. Her skin was also cold. Her breathing was quite labored and thus Saya had to pull down the girl's mask so she could breath more properly. The Sai'ore had no idea of what race the girl was but she hauntingly resembled a Vorken. So much that she would've mistaken the girl before her as a vorken had she not seen the rare skin color and odd clothes. But Saya did knew that when a Vorken's skin grew colder, it was a bad thing and she feared that this girl was the same as well.

So she did the only thing she could think of. She quickly gathered woods from around. She could smell that the woods here was quite similar to the woods in Siraya, meaning that it was burnable. Using the ancient technique of rubbing sticks together, a deed she had not done for over 30,000 years, Saya was able to start a fire. She remember the times long ago when her kind was still using fire as their main energy source. A wave of nostalgia filled her as flashes of all the people she knew till now appeared before her. The same people who were now gone. The same people she had failed to protect.

A pained groan brought her attention back to the present. The girl behind her was still in pain. Saya shut off her own problems for now, she still had works to do. Using the fire to warm the girl up a bit. Saya checked over her body for injuries. Her body had various cuts on it. but that was not her main concern. Saya frowned when she saw a deep bruise on the girl's waist. This was even worst as it could be a case of internal hemorrhage. The Sai'ore looked at the last remaining first aid kit dangling on her hip and pondered. She could save the girl with it as Sai'oren medicine and tools were very advanced and could no dough do the trick.

\---X---

It took about a good hour to fully treat the girl. Saya was relieved that she didn't had to perform a full field surgery. It was a case of internal bleeding but the organs weren't severely damaged. Only a few scratches that Saya's medicine was able to mend. The girl's lightheadedness must've been a sort of involuntary response to reduce the chances reopening the wound. Saya then cleaned the rest of the girl's wounds and bandaged her. Now Saya was all out of medicine, not that she needed any anyways. She did however kept the kit as it still contained various useable tools, just in case. So now she sat down heavily on the ground, with the girl now sleeping soundly. The Sai'ore couldn't help but wonder, _'Why did I help her?'_

That was quite a question. Why help her?

As far as Saya knew, she owed no allegiance or responsibility for the girl. They were but alien life forms to each other who stumbled across each other by sheer luck.

She could argue that it was because that the girl saved or at least helped her back then. But that didn't explained the protectiveness she suddenly felt towards the girl. Was it her sense of honor? Was it her protective instincts? She knew not.

Saya got a good look at the girl's face for now it was unmasked. She looked young. If by vorkish standards, Saya would say that she would be about 16 to 17 winters old. Quite skilled for someone of that age. What made Saya even more concerned was, what was the girl doing in the forest? Why was the goblins chasing her?

Alas those questions weren't answered. Saya sighed and looked up into the sky. A single bright moon laminated the night sky. So different from the four moons of her home world. Shaking her head, Saya closed her eyes and tried to sleep. They both had had a long day.

\---X---

Hanabi of Iga was not having a good day. It all started a week ago. Her rival Hayabusa got the mission to hunt down the rogue shinobi Hanzo, and in an attempt to show him up, she decided in her superior judgement that she can do it before Hayabusa can. She stole the forbidden weapon of the scarlet clan, the Higanbana and set out to find the rogue who had fled towards the west. The Land of dawn.

All in all, she had severely miscalculated the amount of time and preparation that went into 'adventuring'. She found herself lost as soon as she crossed the borders of the eastern lands and had been searching for a way out ever since. That was about five days before. Her luck had turned even worst when she stumbled upon a goblin settlement. Who had chased her for about an hour or two.

That was until she reached a clearing and met face to face with her. The woman before her was tall. A bit too tall. White skin. Not pale or fair complexion, but actual porcelain white skin. Deep green hair, and eyes. Wearing ruined robes, it was clear that the woman had seen better days. However the thing that stood out the most was the woman's pointy ears.

When Hanabi was small, she had heard of stories of the mysterious elves of the Moniyan Empire. The fair knife eared denizens of the kingdom more ancient than man itself. To meet someone in such a situation was indeed shocking.

But soon the goblins caught up with her and she had no choice but to fight alongside the 'elf'.

However the more Hanabi saw the elf woman, she starting to doubt that the woman was an elf. The sharp fangs she had was unlike any elf she had heard of. Her height too was far too tall. Elves were generally shorter than humans but this Elven woman towered over most of the men Hanabi knew.

Then there was that strange language that the woman had addressed Hanabi with. She had met a few elf traders back in her village Iga and Hanabi was pretty sure that Elvish didn't sounded like what the woman spoke. But what she found the most disturbing and fascinating was how the woman seemingly shrug of mortal wounds and heal instantly, something she considered impossible. The woman went away to confront the Hobgoblin. The wounds Hanabi suffered soon took toll on her, and darkness surrounded her.

She knew not how long she was out, but Hanabi was feeling surprisingly better than the time she had slept. Hanabi slowly opened her eyes. Her body felt a bit sore but it sure didn't felt like her inside was being pulled out. The Kunoichi looked over her body and saw that her body was surprisingly covered in bandages. She was still in the clearing where she and the 'elf' had fought together. The sun was slowly peeking through the dense canopy, signally that dawn had arrived.

Hanabi slowly stood up and breathed deeply.

"Meta utama?" a strange voice spoke. On instinct, Hanabi readied her higanbana and took a fighting stance. To her surprise, it was the same woman from yesterday. And she seemed shocked. Hanabi would've lowered her guard but she was not about take chances, thus she still pointed her weapon at her with hostility.

The women's eyes widened in shock. But Hanabi's reaction was understandable, thus Saya dropped her sword and raised her hands in a gesture of peace, "Su'ee neha su'ee."(Calm child, Calm.) She hushed. But then Hanabi answered, "Chotto sagatte te!" which probably meant 'Stay back!' in Japanese(sorry if it's wrong, I don't know Japanese). So it was clear that communication was going to be difficult.

Having no other choice, Saya tried the one language that might work here, thus with great hope she spoke Vorkish, "Can you understand me?"

The lingering heavy Indian accent was there, but it was unmistakable that the elf woman was speaking common tongue of the Mossenia Empire.

Gulping with uncertainty, Hanabi answered back, "What do you want, elf?" Saya was relieved that the Girl could understand Vorkish. It was a very-very hard fluke that Vorkish and common tongue were alike, and thus reasoning was now a viable option.

"I mean no harm Neha, you can lower your weapon."

But Hanabi was still not convinced. However he stomach stung all of a sudden. Causing her to grit her teeth in pain. Saya was already on to her, Hanabi tensed at this and when Saya bend down, Hanabi nearly attacked on instinct but it turned out that Saya was just checking her wound. "You're wounds have still not healed well ,Neha. Please, sit down." She spoke in a soft voice.

Hanabi had no idea why but the elf's words were surprisingly soothing to her. The Kunoichi tried to search for any ill intent behind her words, but ultimately found none. Still not trusting Saya, Hanabi held higanbana closer but sat down nonetheless. Saya nodded, knowing that distrust was only natural. Still she undid Hanabi's bandages and redid it. The girl had nearly reopened her injuries by that stunt and Saya could only apply bandage for now and let the medicine do the rest. All the while Hanabi was feeling very awkward at this strange situation. Nervously she cleared her throat and spoke, "What would an elf be doing so far from Moniyan empire?"

Saya looked at her briefly, it was then Hanabi realized another one of Saya's un-elf like quality, her eyes. Though emerald green in color, her pupil were not round but slits like that of a snake. It made her even more uncomfortable. The Sai'ore finally looked away and continued to tie the bandage while answering, "You mistake me, Neha. I am not an elf......... the name is Saya Mahira."

Saya finished with a sight bow. Not wanting to be rude, Hanabi bowed to Saya and replied, "Hanabi no Iga." The Sai'ore nodded and turned around. "This place is not safe Neha, you should return to your kin." And with that Saya walked away shocking Hanabi to no end, "Wait! You cannot just leave me here!"

Stopping on her tracks, Saya turned towards her with a frown. "Your wound should be safe for now. Go back to your civilization and seek out proper care,Neha. I did what I can for you."

"But your just gonna leave me here!" Hanabi yelled comically.

A long silence fell between them as Saya stared at the girl was a good while. Finally she said, or rather stated, "You're lost aren't you."

Hanabi's face became red with anger and embarrassment, "What? No I'm not! Why would I be lost! I know this forest...... a bit but I know the way." she spoke while crossing her arms. Saya gave her a deadpan stare, Hanabi sweated slightly and spoke, "Well maybe a bit......" her answer was completely not convincing. Hanabi finally gave up and sulked. Fidgeting nervously she spoke, "I may have.....kinda lost my way and I was hoping that you would help me."

The Sai'oer gave her a stoic look, making Hanabi even more nervous. Finally Saya let out a sigh and spoke, "I suppose I can be of assistance. Even if I am more clueless than you are."

A brief look of happiness appeared on Hanabi's face but she suppressed it quickly and spoke, "Indeed, now let's get out of here. Follow me." And with that Hanabi marched forward.

"That's where you came from in the first place, Neha." Pointed out Saya. Hanabi froze for a while before turning the other way, "Of course I knew that, I was just testing you." Mumbled Hanabi.

Saya couldn't help but chuckle at this. Young and proud, those were the words Saya could describe Hanabi with. Shaking her head in amusement, Saya followed the girl before she did something drastic.

Thus by fate, they two of them met. This was but a start of a beautiful journey, one of friendship and adventure. And perhaps even more..................................................


	4. The City of Humans

**Note:- form now on here i will be writing much shorter chapter than chapter 1. please enjoy.**

The two had covered quite a distance by now. With the sun directly on top of their head, the odd duo of a human and a Sai'ore made their merry way through the forest. Time almost forgotten as they exchanged words with each other.

"So let me get this straight..." spoke Hanabi walking beside the tall Sai'ore, "You're an alien called Sai'ore and you've came from the stars?"

"Not exactly the stars, but close enough." Added Saya as she concentrated on the path ahead. While Hanabi gave her a skeptical look, "That sounds crazy you know that?"

Saya frowned towards the young girl at this. Even though Hanabi had redone her mask, the disbelief was clear as daylight on her face. "I assure you Neha, I am not lying."

**(Note:- Neha is the Sai'oren work for child and will be the nickname that Saya will use to call Hanabi through out most parts of the story)**

The Human, as the girl had explained her race as, let out a sigh and mumbled, "Let just get to a town. I want a bath and some hot food."

After that a long silence followed.

For more few hours, they kept on walking, but one thing was sure. Both of them had no idea where they were suppose to go. Hanabi groaned in despair, her feet were killing her and her stomach grumbled loudly. She looked upon Saya to see whether she was sharing the same fate or not. Much to her surprise, Saya seemed just as active as in the morning when they left the clearing. It kinda made Hanabi envious of her vitality.

The human did however notice how the Sai'ore's ears twitched now and then at slightest sound. Her posture was rigid and guarded as her eyes darted here and there with both curiosity and suspicion. Hanabi could only describe Saya's reaction as that of an animal in an alien environment and she had no idea how right she was.

Suddenly Saya stopped, halting Hanabi as well. "What happened?" but she got no reply. Saya just closed her eyes and took a deep breath, freaking out the human girl. Turning back towards Hanabi, she spoke, "Come."

With that Saya went deeper into the woods. Not wanting to be left behind, Hanabi tried to keep up with her, but this proved a bit difficult as Hanabi had to jog to keep up with the long strides made by Saya's equally long legs. "Hey! Slow down."

Realizing this, Saya immediately stopped to wait for her shorter companion and apologized with a small smile, "Mafe neha, I will be more considerate."

Hanabi huffed at this. Her own height was considered quite tall for the girls back in Iga but here was this giantess to whom Hanabi only reached till her chest. Hanabi could say that she was a bit jealous; still there was no use to being angry about that. So Hanabi stayed her tongue.

In her thoughts, Hanabi nearly missed a faint sound and it was the unmistakable sound of flowing water. Though not much by such a large scale, Sai'ore did had better hearing and smelling sense than the Vorkens, the strongest sensed was possessed by the Eun'ra. However that was enough to help Saya find the stream that she had heard from a couple of meters away.

The stream was small but the water was clear enough to be drunk. And as if luck was on their side, there was even a cobble stone road not far from the stream. Having no time for decency, the two rushed to the stream and drank some water that they desperately needed.

If would be moments before the two were fresh enough to continue their journey. Now rejuvenated and in much more higher spirit, the two continued down the road. Had they waited about half an hour, they would've witnessed the water turning pitch black and the trees around wither due to something vile and evil making its presence and advancing further.

\---X---

"Neha, are you sure this is the way?" asked Saya with uncertainty.

"Of course Mahira-san. This road should take us right towards the capital of the Mossenian Empire." assured Hanabi confidently, which didn't convince Saya at all. The girl had a very bad sense of direction but Saya didn't spoke it out aloud out of respect. The forest around them slowly thinned out, till the point they reached a vast open area.

Before them was a huge city. Situated at the coasts of a huge sea, the city was surrounded by three gigantic walls with a huge castle in the middle. It was awe-inspiring visual as the two just stood there gaping like fools. Saya was the first to pull herself out of the daze and spoke, "Quite a city that is."

"Indeed, the city of Mossenia, jewel of the Mossenian Empire. We should get going. I hear they close the gates after the sun falls, we better hurry." Added the kunoichi.

Saya nodded and was about to follow. That was until she felt something. A sudden disturbance in the air. Saya could feel a presence which she couldn't put her finger on. She turned around and looked at the woods. The feeling of something watching them agitated her, yet she couldn't pin point what was it.

"Mahira-san, we have to hurry!" called Hanabi form a distance. Saya gave one last look towards the dark woods and followed the girl. Yet the sensation was still there. _'Something is not right.'_

\---X---

The city had its own beauty when looked from afar, and when they reached near it. Well, both of them were not disappointed but not impressed as well. The Sun had fallen and the gates were closed as Hanabi had warned. So they were quite relieved that they would not have to spend the rest of their night outside the walls.

Night had fallen yet the city was far from asleep as the roads was still crowded and bustling with life. Saya had to be extra careful not to lose sight of her companion. They both were new in this city and being alone was not in anyone's interest right now. They walked throughout the city trying to find a suitable place to crash in for the night.

Saya was quite fascinated at the way these humans lived. The lifestyle was almost Vorken like, all always busy, going on with their work with little to no regard for discipline and order. Shaking her head in amusement, Saya followed closer to Hanabi. They reached a large boulevard which went all the way towards the castle at the center of the city. Hanabi excused herself and went inside a small building with a white cross of its door. Probably a healer as Saya had insisted that the Kunoichi go and treat her wounds, leaving Saya to wait outside. Soon a huge mob had gathered at the sides of the road and Saya too went to see what the fuss was all about for she had nothing to do. The Sai'ore watch with rapt attention as a small group of heavily armored soldiers walked down the path in a disciplined and regal fashion. The crowd was talking amongst themselves excitedly at their arrival, "Look the Imperial Knights are back."

" And Captain Tigreal is with them too!"

The Sai'ore looked at the one leading the group. It was a human male but his physic was that of an Eun'ra. Standing about seven and half feet tall, the human was covered in a heavy golden and white armor. A massive shield in his left hand with and equally massive sword dangling by his hip, Captain Tigreal was clearly an awe inspiring sight. The people loved him as they cheered on his arrival.

"So is it done then?" asked another citizen, this pulled Saya's attention. _'What was done.'_

"I really do hope so." Sneered another man with barely contained anger.

"There she is!" pointed another citizen. Saya looked towards where the man was pointing and was genuinely astonished.

There bound in heavy chains was a woman. She had snow white hair and pale skin. The knights had her bond and dragged along the road where she walked gracefully even if she was chained. Although the woman's revealing attire made Saya flush a bit, she did noticed that the woman had a pair of horns jutting out of her head. The Sai'ore was confused at this but the crowd was getting crazy by now, "Murderer!"

"Kill the Blood Demoness!" and like that the entirety of the mob was now shouting obscenities and curses at the woman. This really bugged Saya. She had no idea what was happening but she could clearly see that the pain ran deep.

Yet the shackled woman had an impassive face. Hell when Saya looked properly, she could actually see that the woman was actually smiling. As if sensing her eyes, The woman turned and met Saya's gaze. Her breath hitched when Saya met the woman's mesmerizing violet eyes. It was so beautiful and captivating that she just couldn't keep her eyes off them. It was too good to be true. As if a vision out of a fantasy. As if...........a witchcraft.

Saya's eyes widened at this and she jerked away. She felt as if a hold on her had been broken.When she looked back at the woman, Saya saw that even she looked surprised. Her enchant had failed. Rage boiled inside Saya, she was a warrior who despised deceit and other cowardly ways like that. Yet this enchantress had tried her veil tricks on her. It took a fair amount of will power for Saya to not go and kill the woman now and there. But she did glared back at the woman with furiosity she reserved only to her worst of foes. She may not be an Empress anymore but she still held her self-respect. That seemed to work as the Woman eventually turned away, but not before smirking sensually at her. Saya turned away now, half out of anger, half out of embarrassment.

"Mariha-san!" a familiar voice of Hanabi called. Saya turned towards her companion and smiled, "Miss Hanabi, I hope that your check up went well?" the girl glared at the poor Sai'ore heatedly, causing her to laugh nervously. Turns out that their medicines were too bitter and Hanabi was clearly not happy about the whole ordeal.

"Let's go." The woman grumbled and the Saya followed her with a low chuckle. _'What an interesting girl.'_

\---X---

"You really don't have to do this Miss, Hanabi..."

"But I insist Mahira-san. And please, just call me Hana."

Saya sighed and took a seat along with the kunoichi. "Only if you call me just Saya as well."

"Fair enough Saya-san." Replied Hanabi before taking a seat herself. The two had finally found a small and cheap inn to their liking. And what the previous drama was all about? Hanabi was trying to buy Saya a dinner and Saya was being polite and refused. But she soon learned that Hanabi could be really stubborn when provoked. Thus here they were. Seated against each on and old wooden table, eating a bowl of stew each with an uncomfortable silence in the air.

Saya really hoped that all the food in this world was not like this for its was basically just salty hot water. As for Hanabi, she was just happy to have her belly full with at least something.

"So, how was your stay so far?" asked Hanabi out of the blue.

"It has been good Miss...mafe, I mean Hana. However there was this commotion in the streets..........."

"So you saw her as well?" asked Hanabi

Saya nodded, "Who was she?"

Hanabi looked around for any eavesdroppers an whispered, "That was the blood demoness of the dark abyss. She calls herself Alice the Queen of Apocalypse. She and her kind had been terrorizing the lands for centuries now. But now have caught her."

Saya nodded in understanding. But still, she couldn't help but feel that something was not right about this Alice. Something was very wrong.

\---X---

"Move it scum." Growled a Guard, shoving Alice into a prison cell.

"We're gonna publicly execute your sorry ass tomorrow. Enjoy your last sleep." Smirked the other one. But Alice just chuckled in amusement at this. "Funny, I was going to as you the same."

Though her voice was beautiful as a noble maiden, yet it held a dark and cruel undertone. And the fact that her voice seemingly had an unnatural echo made the guards even more uncomfortable.

"We're watching you Demon, no funny business." They growled.

Alice turned towards them and gave an enchanting smile. So beautiful and sensual that it even made those hard trained Knights blush like buffoons on courting day.

"Watch your back." She teased slowly. Her voice ominous and playful. Fidgeting nervously, the guard spoke to his comrade, "Let's just get outta here, I don't like this." The other nodded in agreement and left the Blood Demon alone in her cell.

Alice laughed to herself, a hundred years had passed but still she hadn't lost her touch. Humans were always so fun to tease. Especially the males. She shook her head, there had been very few who had resisted her enchant in the lands. She could almost could them on her fingers. Be it man or beast, male or female, all just couldn't resist her heavenly allure. Yet she was proved wrong today.

That creature she saw amongst the crowd, it intrigued her. To an untrained eye, many would've passed her as an elf, but Alice knew better. She knew elves very well. They were in fact, one of her favorite meal. Especially the infants. Thus she knew the woman she saw was no elf. It was something beyond her knowledge and it made her curious.

She had resisted Alice's gaze and actually matched her with a gaze that spoke volumes of her. The woman's eyes. It screamed of power and wisdom. The bearing she held herself was that of a royalty, even if her attire didn't match it. She looked Alice in the eye and dared her. Never had Alice seen someone stand up to her with such intensity and the woman was in fact dozens of feet away. It made Alice wonder just how much more bold she was in close quarters.

_'Just who are you?'_ An amused smile graced on her lips at this, "We'll meet soon....."

\---X---

Hanabi had rented a small room in the inn where they just had their dinner, if you could call it that. The room was not exactly of good quality. A small room with a window, a single bed and chair along with table on the corner. But with the money she had left, Hanabi was lucky that the innkeeper was generous enough to even let them have a room.

The Kunoichi shifted in her bed. Sleep was not coming to her. Why? She felt a bit guilty.

They had a single bed and Saya had insisted that Hanabi take it as she was paying. When the human girl suggested that they could share the bed, the Sai'ore turned beet red in embarrassment and declined immediately. It ended up with Hanabi taking the bed for herself and Saya sleeping in the chair with her head down on the table.

A very uncomfortable position, yet the older woman seemed fast asleep. Her breaths were steady and eyes were closed. She was tired after all. This made Hanabi wonder, was Saya just not showing her fatigue on purpose? Hanabi hoped she didn't. Overexerting one's body was never a good thing. Hanabi just couldn't help but feel a bit worried for her companion. Saya had saved her life, nearly at her own expense and Hanabi was grateful for it.

She really wanted to make it up to Saya. Hanabi stared at the wooden ceiling of the room. Tomorrow, it was clear that they would part ways. Saya would be off on her own while Hanabi would be off on hers. She still had a mission to complete and she was damn sure she will complete it. Her thoughts drifted towards a certain black clad shinobi who too was on the same mission as her. Well, technically, it was 'his' mission and Hanabi was practically just barging in, but right now she could care less. Her eyes grew heavier as sleep slowly crept into her being. A yawn escaped her lips and she turned to the other side and pulled the blanket closer to her, _"I'll find you."_ She mumbled before dreams consumed her.

\---X---

It was midnight. The moon was shining brightly as most of the city was asleep by now. But sadly the city guards were still up and about.

"Lovely night ain't it?"

"Yah, but we're stuck in this boring guard duty."

"Someone will have to take care of the gates!"

"Don't give me that crap! No one's gonna be stupid enough to attack this city."

The other guard paused for a while, "Well that might be true." A long silence followed. Turning to his friend, he showed his weapon to him and asked, "What do you think about these new weapons, the scholars of Antoinerei made?"

"The musket?" replied the Guard holding his own gun in his hand, "It's alright I suppose. Pierces through plate armor like hot knife through butter!" he mock aimed his gun towards the sky, accidentally pulling the trigger. A ear splitting Bang could be heard throughout the vicinity. The Guard cringed when some of the guards stationed at the watch tower roared, "You blind!"

Smiling sheepishly, the guard answered ,"Sorry! My bad!"

After that he held the musket by its nuzzle and got to his knee. Putting a single bullet down the long barrel, he added some gun powder and used a stick to push and lubricate the bullet into the barrel.

"But takes a hell lot of time to reload doesn't it?" commented his friend with a smirk. The Guard grumbled in annoyance at this.

A few more hours went by in peace as nothing of interest happened. That was until the two saw some figures walking towards the gates. The guards narrowed their eyes to see more clearly and saw that about five or so hooded figures walked down the cobble stone road and straight towards them. When they reached closed enough, one of the guard spoke, "The Gates are closed travelers. Come back tomorrow."

Yet the figures made no attempt to stop, but kept one walking forward. This made the two a bit uncomfortable. "Oi! Back off!" still they didn't stopping, this made the two even more nervous, "I said, BACK OFF!" yelled the guard, now pointing his gun at the hooded figures.

The figures stopped in their tracks but both of the guards could sense an eerie feeling form the figures. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong.

Without a warning one of the figure suddenly disappeared. This shocked the two, until one of them felt a sharp pain in the chest. He looked down and saw a tail sticking out of his punctured chest . A hooded figure was behind him and it hissed cruelly, "What does my poison tastes like?"

Seeing his friend in such a condition, the other guard roared in rage and pointed his gun at the abomination that killed his friend, "Die, Beast!"

But, before he could pull the trigger, a giant red hand held his arm firmly. The Guard looked at its owner and felt a chill go down his back. Under the shadows of the hood, the guard saw two glowing amber eyes, "Ignorant human." The.....thing sneered before crushing the man's hand in its iron like grip. The man wanted to scream in agony but, the beast held the man by his neck and snapped it like a twig. His lifeless body fell down on the ground.

Pleased with their handy work, the three walked forward towards the gates.

"What's going on down there?" another guard called from the watch tower. However, before he could do much, one of the hooded figure suddenly pulled out a spear form his robe. With skills unheard of, he hurled the spear towards the Guard. Travelling a distance of a good forty meters(not an easy task for a spear) the guard was impaled by the spear through his heart. His body dropped down dead, leaving them with lesser threats to worry about.

"Come we have work to do." Spoke the one who broke the guard's neck. The rest nodded and entered the city.

Shit's about to get real.............................................


	5. Seige of Mossenia

Captain Tigreal walked down the stone hall way. His king had asked for his presence and thus he made his way towards the throne room. Pushing open the huge doors of the Throne room. There seated on the lavish throne was King Roderick Mossenia the 3rd. Ruler of the great human empire. Tigreal kneeled along with the rest of his knights and bowed, "My king."

The old king waved his hand and spoke, "Rise my knights. Tell me..........What news?"

The Captain of the Imperial Knights puffed his chest in pride and declared, "My king, we have succeeded to capture the Queen of Apocalypse herself. Right now she is in the dungeons awaiting judgement."

However the King's reaction was not what Tigreal had hoped for. Instead of pride and happiness, worry filled the King's eyes. "My King?" asked Tigreal in uncertainty.

But King Roderick turned towards the other occupants of the room and commanded, "Leave us." The rest of them nodded and emptied the room till only Tigreal and the King remained. He slowly stood up from his throne and spoke to the captain, "Walk with me, Tigreal." And with that, the King slowly walked out of the Room itself and into a terrace overlooking the city.

Tigreal followed his king and spoke, "Yes my king?" the old man sighed , "Tell me what happened, Captain. Leave no detail."

The Captain nodded and started to explain the king what had transpired.

\---X---

A blade through the throat and yet another guard felt the cold embrace of death. Helcurt the Shadowbringer stood high and admired his handiwork.

"Quite fooling around, cat. We still have much to do." Growled a Huge hooded figure as he picked his axe embedded on the back of a guard he had killed. Not liking the tone in which he was addressed, the shadowbringer hissed towards him venomously, "I don't have to take that form you, Filthy orc!" his voice was guttural and had an unnatural echo, like all the rest of his kin.

Now both of them were are each other's throats, "Care to say that again, 'Cat'?" snared the red skinned Orc dangerously .

"You heard me, Filthy Orc."

But before the two tore each other's throats out, a third voice spoke, "Please refrain from attracting too much attention. We must be discrete." The figure bent down and picked a spear form a downed guard and put it away inside his robe.

"Easy for you to say Half-breed. Sneaking is for the weak." Grumbled Balmond.

"That I agree, Berserkers are hardly the type to think things through." Smirked Helcurt.

Glaring at him, Balmond growled. Moskov rubbed his face and spoke sternly, "This is the Queen's orders. Do you really want to disobey her?"

Both of the arguing parties stopped bickering.

"Thought so. Keep moving."

In the dead of the night, the group of five made their way through the city. Towards their current objective. Soon they reached the main harbor of the city. Usually this was the main source of all trade and wealth in the city. And perhaps also the only other way of entering the city besides the inland main gate.

A huge gate separated the harbor form the city, and as the main gate, this too was locked but lightly guarded. Non had ever imagined that anyone would have the gull to attack the city and in their arrogance, they were careless. Balmond seethed in anger at the arrogance of humans, but that didn't rule out the fact that the arrogance of man could be used for their advantage.

The guards stationed at the gates were easily dispatched. Now what remained was the gate itself. Moskov stood at the dock and looked out in the sea. Many dots could be seen far away, rolling on the sea waves. Many would've dismissed this as nothing but the half-breed knew better. Their forces were coming and everything must be in order.

"We need to take care of the gate." Moskov told his other comrades.

"Just opening will not do, the human will eventually find a way to close it once again." Grumbled the Shadowbringer.

"Let's just destroy the bloody gate." Suggested Balmond as if that was the most simplest thing to do. Moskov looked dumbstruck while Helcurt was not amused, "And how exactly are we gonna do that?"

The orc pointed towards the docks and spoke, "There are barrels of Gunpowder over there."

\---X---

"By the Dark abyss, why do these hairless apes have so many barrels of those wretched things!" cursed Helcurt, carrying the barrel along with the rest of his companions. All Shadowbringers had natural hatred for anything that is bright or creates light. And since gunpowder were infamous for seemingly making fire form thin air, he was clearly very annoyed.

"Maybe it's was the main supply of gunpowder that was imported for the city. Luck seems to be on our side it seems." Explained Moskov carrying another barrel and placing it down near the gate.

"Work faster worms!" barked Balmond, holding four barrels in his arms, the bear of an orc worked hard and fast to get the work done.

"At least the brute is good for something." mumbled Helcurt.

"You think this will be enough?" asked Moskov looking at their setting and the huge wooden and iron gate behind it with uncertainty. Balmond let out a laugh, "That's forty barrels of genuine Antoinerian Gunpowder, Boy. This is going to annihilate this puny gate!" he spoke proudly and stood akimbo.

Moskov sighed and steeled himself. Turning to his comrades, he spoke seriously, "Very well. I believe we all know the plan." The rest nodded at this. "Failure is not an option, The Queen depends on us. For the Abyss!" he yelled.

"For the Abyss!" the rest followed suit as well.

\---X---

The King frowned more as Tigreal kept on explaining what that happened.

"That is all my King." Concluded Tigreal. Roderick shook his head, something was not right. The way Tigreal described, things went smoothly. Almost too smoothly.

"Something bothers you my King?"

Roderick sighed and nodded. Yet the king didn't speak and just looked out towards his city. The moon shined brightly, illuminating the entirety of Mossenia. It was a breath taking sight, but the king couldn't dwell on its beauty as worry clouded his being.

"I know the Queen of Apocalypse, She wouldn't have surrendered so easily. Something sinister is at play here." The old King closed his eyes and thought as Tigreal stood confused, "What do you mean? Why would she ever have to come here? She has no reason to."

"That's where you're wrong, old friend. Remember the battle of Enchanted forest?"

Tigreal remembers that battle well. About twenty years ago, the Humans and the Elves and joined forces to battle against the blood demons of the Alice. Tigreal balled his fist remembering how his moment of hesitation caused the lives of his mentors and countless other soldiers. Even the Elven King Estes was gravely wounded by his mistake. But King Roderick rode high and strong, and victory was at last theirs. Yet that day was not something Tigreal revered in.

The Captain hung his head in shame. Sensing his distress, the King placed a hand of Tigreal's shoulder and spoke, "You have to let go now, Old friend. What's done was done. You should take it as a lesson and move on." Tigreal nodded at Roderick's words of encouragement.

"That aside, do you know how we had won against the Queen of Apocalypse?"

Tigreal nodded, "You destroyed the demon's wings and banished her. Without her wings she is not as powerful as she was."

However Tigreal noticed how the King tensed at this, making the captain confused. "You destroyed it.......... Right?" he asked nervously.

The King looked up and met his eye. "Follow me." He spoke firmly and walked away. Tigreal strode besides him. He didn't got an answer, but he feared that he already knew the answer. The Captain of the imperial guard followed his King to the highest point of the castle. There before them was what looked like a normal wall.

Roderick pulled out a key from his royal robe and put it in a hidden keyhole. Giving a twist, the wall trembled before slowly parting away and revealing a hidden room. Tigreal was shocked as he never knew of this place, however his shock turned into horror when he saw what was on the pedestal in the room.

There floating magically on top of the pedestal was a pair of leathery wings. Tigreal knew what it was but still couldn't believe it. "Is that.........?"

"Yes my friend...........The wings of Queen of Apocalypse herself." spoke Roderick ominously.

"But, Why?"

The old king sighed, "This Demonic relic couldn't be destroyed by normal means and I couldn't risk it falling into the wrong hands."

Tigreal looked at the relic once again. The Unholy item which gave user the ability of flight and vampirism. He could almost smell the dried blood on it.

"Could this be what she came here for?"

The King nodded slowly. They both sealed the door and walked away from that cursed relic. Their steps were rigid and agitated. Tigreal more so for he may just have brought doom upon themselves. But still he refused to believe it.

"She is in the walls of the heart of the Mossenian Empire. She doesn't have the will or the man power to commence an attack. She will face justice tomorrow as it should be." He spoke firmly, as if to convince the King. But he was actually trying to convince himself.

The king looked out of a window and shook his head, "I really hoped you were right my friend. I really do........ But you are wrong."

Tigreal was both shocked and confused at what the King said. However he couldn't ask about it. A huge explosion woke the entire city and the gates of the harbor walls was no more.

\---X---

Sounds of clashing swords, gun fire and screams were more than enough to wake up Saya from her sleep. She was confused at first but her senses flared dangerously. Acting quickly, Saya took a hold of Hanabi, much to her annoyance for she had just slept. But soon a huge flaming spear embedded itself where Hanabi was laying moments ago, causing a chill to go through the Kunoichi's body.

"What's going on?" she exclaimed. Saya picked up her sword and Hanabi's Higanbana that had fallen on the ground. Looking her in the eyes, Saya spoke, "We need to leave."

The two made their way out of the inn and saw the chaos surrounding them. The city was under attack.

An army of BloodAxe orcs, undeads, abyssal demons and creeps (yes those creeps) had seized the city. Roads were littered with blood and bodies. Many of the houses were burning. People were running amok the chaos, trying to escape the onslaught as the Enemies slaughtered the pathetic unorganized resistance the guards were making.

Flaming spears fell from the sky as more and more enemies poured in from the open gate.

Saya was dazed by the carnage. It reminded her of what had happened a few days ago. So lost she was that she couldn't even hear Hanabi calling her.

"Saya-san !" the kunoichi called but her companion just stood frozen still. The carnage around them was growing by every second. Hanabi had hold Saya's hand and drag her to safety. All the while, Saya looked around. Gun fires, clashing metals. Raging fire................ Screams of the innocents.

She couldn't leave them. Not now. Not when she could save them. Not after what had happened.

_"I cannot leave them."_ She whispered.

Hanabi heard it and turned towards Saya in confusion. What she saw shocked her. From the brief time she had spent with Saya, Hanabi had seen her as a sweet and kind woman who was very considerate and polite. But the woman before her was not what Hanabi had expected. Gone was her sweet and kind aura, and was replaced with a furious and determined one. Had Hanabi not known better, she could've even said that she was looking at an entirely different person.

"I cannot leave them." She said firmly, surprising Hanabi. "But, Saya-san?" her voice lashed with worry.

Saya's expression turned soft, a perfect 180 degree contrast of her previous one. As if she had a sort of mixed personalities which she could beckon at will. Saya held Hanabi's hand and gave a reassuring squeeze. With a small smile, the Sai'ore spoke softly, "Please be safe, neha. I hope we meet again." With a last squeeze, Saya let go of Hanabi's hand. Turning around her heel, Saya dashed towards the fray, leaving Hanabi flabbergasted on her spot.

She looked at her hand, pondering on what Saya said. The pain in Saya's voice was felt by her, and the genuine concern for her well being warmed her. But now Saya was gone. She purposefully went away to save lives, just like how she had while saving Hanabi's, without a regard of her own.

It was so easy to turn tail and walk away. This was not Hanabi's fight. She owed them nothing, but when she thought about it, Saya owed her nothing as well. Yet still she came to her aid. This thought lingered heavily on Hanabi's chest as she watched the way Saya ran off to. Frustration and worry built within her.

"Baka!" she mumbled with gritted teeth, which meant 'fool' in Hanabi's mother tongue.

Saya had left now, but for some reason, Hanabi couldn't leave her. Not now, Not like this.

"BAKA!" Hanabi yelled. She rushed after the tall Sai'ore. Trying very hard to control the sudden turmoil of emotions which magically swelled inside her. Hanabi swore to herself, She was gonna make sure Saya was alright..............then give her a piece of her mind.

\---X---

Saya ran through the bloodied roads, her eyes darting for any survivors that were left. Hearing someone scream, the Ex-Empress perked her head towards the direction from where it came. Wasting no time, she made sprinted towards it while praying that she reached there in time.

Backed up against the corner were some civilians. A group of Orcs and undeads were marching towards them. The only thing that was between them and the civilian was a lone guard, who was bloody and beaten. Yet his eyes were still filled with fire and thus he had not gave in...........yet.

"This is useless Human. Give us the women and I assure you a painless death." Smirked an Orc as the rest of his men howled in agreement.

"To the abyss with you, foul beast!" roared the man trying to attack the orc. But in his condition, he wasn't able to do much. The orc punched him hard in the chest and the guard doubled over in pain. The civilians looked in horror as their protector was being beaten mercilessly.

Nearly broken, the orc let him take a breather and chuckled, "Had enough?"

But the guard still looked at him in defiance and spit on him. Having enough, the Orc lifted his weapon, intending to end the miserable human, until a sword was came flying through the air embedded itself into the orc's chest. Soon someone jumped off from the roof of a building and landed on the ground with a forward roll. Wasting no time, Saya rushed forward and ripped the sword out of the orc's chest. With another slash, its head flew off.

Everyone was left astonished by this. With a flick of her hand, Saya rid her sword of the blood that covered it and sheathed her sword. Slowly she bent down and helped the Guard up. "You are brave, Human. Can you still fight?"

Recovering from his state of speechlessness, the Guard gave a determined nod. Saya nodded back in acknowledgement and pulled out her sword, holding it firmly with her two hands as the Guard did the same. Her sword glistened as the lights of fire reflected off it menacingly. Saya drew a sharp breath and dashed forward. The Guard let out a war cry and charged as well.

Working together, both of the fighters were putting up a very good fight. Although Saya preferred cutlass or scimitar or any more cutting oriented sword over a straight long sword, but her sword served her well. And she couldn't ignore the fact that straight swords were far more versatile. The guard was injured, and several times, Saya had to go out of her way to protect his flank but one this was sure. The Human was fearless. Although wounded and at the limit of his body, he fought on. He fought with all his heart all to protect the weak who were counting on him. This alone made Saya have a new found respect for the Human.

Although the two were able to hold back the hoard, the enemy numbers were not thinning out at all. At this rate, they would get overwhelmed pretty soon. Saya bared her sharp fangs at her enemies as a challenge, holding her sword tighter. To answer her, the enemies charged towards her. Saya was about to launch herself forward but before she could do this, a familiar looking chakram soared through the air and killed many enemies before bouncing back to its owner. Saya was shocked beyond words when Hanabi, along with ten more guards came charging into the battle.

The guard smirked humorously at this, "Someone requested 'Back up'?"

With the combined forces of the reinforcement, they were able to chase away the assailing forces. The group rejoiced at this and cheered. Saya leaned against the wall of the house and took a deep breath. Things were looking good for once, "MISS SAYA MAHIRA!" a shrill shout resonated throughout the area.

Saya was confused at first but gulped nervously when she saw Hanabi stomping towards her furiously. The Sai'ore started sweating bullets as the much shorter girl glared at her heatedly. Saya didn't need Hanabi to be unmasked to know that she was pissed.

"Do you ,miss, have any idea what you did! You practically left me all alone!" she yelled throwing her arms up as Saya couldn't do anything but fidget nervously as the kunoichi scolded her. Never in her very long life had Saya met someone who would speak to her in such a way and the worst part was that she was surprisingly very nervous to really protest about it. Turns out Hanabi could be very-very scary when provoked.

"I mean, Why did you suddenly had to be a hero! Do you know how worried I was!"

In her anger, Hanabi had let out many things out of her mouth, but one thing became clear to Saya. Masked under the crust of anger and frustration, concern and worry was what fueled Hanabi's actions and words. This made Saya realize once again. She was still pushing people away. An image of a someone Saya knew flashed before her for a moment. That figure, it smiled warmly at her. It made Saya realize, how much she had worried the only person that she now knew. How much she had worried the human girl.

Hanabi would've spoken some more, but stopped when she was suddenly wrapped by Saya in an embrace. Warmth flooded towards Hanabi's cheeks as she blushed at the sudden embrace, "Eh?"

Saya spoke with a small voice , "Meha mafe kara, Hana. Forgive me. I just.....had to."

The Kunoichi's angry and shock dissipated with Saya's heartfelt words. Hanabi smiled and awkwardly patted Saya back, "Its fine....... I guess. Just don't run off on your own like that. We are friends, we look out for each other."

This surprised Saya. She let go of Hanabi and asked, "I'm ............ you're friend?"

Hanabi flinched at this. She got carried away and spoke something she shouldn't have. Looking away nervously, the girl spoke with uncertainty, "Well, You can choose not to be if you want...."

Saya's heart dropped at this. Quickly holding Hanabi's hand she spoke frantically, "Na, that's not what I meant. I was just a bit surprised that you considered me a friend. I would be honored to be your friend!"

There she went, Saya started babbling nervously like a love sick girl. Hanabi couldn't keep her straight face and giggled. A complete contrast form her normal demeanor and Saya found it very precious. Suddenly Saya left her throat dry and her cheek heat up. Upon noticing that she was still holding Hanabi's hand Saya let go of her hand immediately, apologizing. Her snow white face became red as ruby and her heart hammered like crazy. Hanabi found this side of Saya very amusing and funny and she couldn't help but giggle once more, "Your funny."

Saya turned the other way and hid her face, suppressing the urge to pout like a little girl. All was good and all but Hanabi looked away towards the Guards and spoke, "We should get moving." With that she walked away, leaving Saya to ponder on her own. Sighing loudly, Saya mumbled to herself, _"40,000 years and I still stink at this."_

The two helped guards and the civilian to pull themselves together. Saya looked around and analyzed. They only had ten warriors who could put up some fight and they were all exhausted. The rest were civilians who had little to no training to even lift a sword. She looked around the near desolated surrounding and let out a tired breath, "We need to move. They probably are preparing for a counter attack as we speak."

"The entire blasted city is crawling with them bastards. Were the hell are we suppose to go?" one of the guard spat.

Saya didn't like it but the man had a point. Soon one of the civilian spoke out, "The armory. I've heard some of the guards have garrisoned the armory. We should be safe there."

Lacking viable options, the group decided to make their way to the armory. The journey was perilous, traversing the burning remains of the city was both, dangerous and heart aching for them as the now smoking ruins was once their home. Fighting off occasional enemy splinter groups was an even more challenging task as they had to make sure that the civilian weren't harmed. With great difficulty, they finally reached their destination.

The basement of the armory had been used as a temporary station. Saya counted about thirty civilians and twenty guards, and the fact that most of them were injured was not helping. Using her knowledge of medicine from back when she was a doctor, Saya tried to relief the people with whatever available material she could salvage. Hanabi was there to help as well, but it was clear she knew very little of field medical treatment. And with what they had, Saya could only perform first aid level remedies.

All the while, the able guards were discussing their next move.

"We can't just leave them to their fate!"

A rather heated discussion.

"The city is overrunned! More than half of our men are captured! Can't you see, there is nothing you can do!"

Saya kept on working but her ears were still listening to them intently.

"Maybe if we surrender, the civilians will be spared."

"Are you insane? They will kill us all no matter what!"

"Then what do you suppose we do!"

"We fight! Mossenia is not lost till her people stands. We fight till the last man!"

"I will not let you senselessly send us to our doom. This is madness!"

"I would rather be a madman than a coward."

"Why you!"

Seemingly having enough of their bickering Saya stood up and barked, "Enough!"

Her voice came strong and hard that everyone stopped and looked at her in shock. The Sai'ore rubbed her temple and spoke, "I can't believe that you all are considered adults. Not doing anything and bickering like children." She walked over to the armor stand and started putting on a gambeson over her ruined robes.

"What is it you said." hissed a guard aggressively at her. But when he met Saya's stern gaze, the man had no idea why, but he stopped on his tracks. Focusing on her task, Saya picked some thick gloves and pit them on, "Your home as we speak is being torn down by your enemies. Your brothers and sisters are being held prisoner in their own city and all you do is fight amongst yourselves."

With that Saya fitted two shoulder guards on her shoulder and tightened the strips.

The guard balled his fist and gritted his teeth, "Easy for you to say, elf. They are not your kin who burns!"

Saya stopped at this. She turned and met the angered gaze of the man. The guard continued, "You don't know how it feels like to see your loved ones die and be powerless to do anything about it." although steely in tone. The man's voice nearly broke. Here was a man who had lost his loved ones.

Her eyes turned sympathetic. "I know how it feels like, Human." She spoke lowly. Causing them to gasp. Saya tied a leather belt around her waist and continued speaking, "The feeling of utter hopelessness as the screams of the ones you care for deafens your senses because there is not a thing you could've done." Saya looked at her reflection on her steel sword. Sheathing it, she hung the sword on her belt. Slowly she tied her long green hair into a low bun, "I know the feeling well. And I hate it." she turned towards them once again. "I don't want to feel it again........ so I will fight." she picked another sword and walked towards the guard.

"I will fight for whatever that is left of the loved ones. Even if it's not mine. For they are other's loved ones too. I will fight so that I will not live on with the regret of not doing something."

Saya stood before the man and looked him in the eye. "I will fight..... Because I have." Saya turned towards all the other people in the area and spoke aloud, "I will go and fight this battle which is not mine. Am I to go alone.....or will you join me?" she asked the guard and presented him the other sword she was carrying.

The guard looked at the sword. Then at the Sai'ore. As if he was pondering hard of her words. The man took a deep breath and took the sword. Looking Saya in the eyes, he declared, "My sword is with you."

This shocked everyone. Saya's lip curled upward slightly. She placed her hand on his shoulder and started walking out of the basement. The man followed her as well. Turning back towards the rest of the speechless guards, he barked loudly, "What are you sorry bastards waiting for? Let's take back our city!"

With a new vigor, the rest of them roared in approval and followed Saya. With a new hope and determination, the Humans would strike back......................................................


	6. The empress strikes back

_a few hours ago-_

Many ships landed on the docks of the city. All filled with forces of the abyss. They jumped down from their ships and charged towards the city like mindless fiends.

They attack swiftly, leaving little to no room for a counter attack as they poured inside the city with easy. The Harbor gates were the best chance of the city's defence but that was already destroyed.

Moskov looked at the havoc their forces were wrecking with a passive eye. Balmond marched beside him and laughed, "Now this is more fit for a warrior!"

The half-breed looked at the orc with a frown but spoke nothing. Their forces marched further into the city, slaughtering countless and held many as prisoners. They would serve their own purpose later, but right now, His work was not done.

An undead scout ran towards them and reported, "The men have overrunned the second wall and the third wall is currently under seize."

"Excellent, at this rate, we might just take over this pathetic city." Balmond said confidently.

"But, The Warrior of Dawn Tigreal has walked out of the first wall. He is launching a counter attack as we speak."

This made them pause. Moskov looked upon his comrade and spoke, "You know what to do."

The orc snorted, "Just go and save that wench, I'll cover your flank."

The demon-human half-breed narrowed his eyes dangerously at him but chose not to say anything for now. Joining a small group of men, Moskov and Helcurt went forth to break Alice free from her prison.

Turning towards his men, Balmond barked, "On your feet maggots, we are feasting human flesh tonight!"

\---X---

It was a disaster. The forces of abyss had taken them by surprise. Thus they had overwhelmed the city in such a short amount of time. Tigreal gritted his teeth in anger and despair. He had done it once again. The captain couldn't help but feel that deep down he was responsible of all the destruction and misfortune that had befall on them. He regretted not killing the Demon queen when he had the chance.

It mattered not now. He had to defend the city. Along with his knights and the city guards, he organised a counter attack. After a long bloody battle, things were finally looking better. But the fight was far from over. The second wall was filled with enemy forces while the third district was lost to them, the abyssal forces had conquered it. The harbor was the seat of enemy invasion and they were running thin on numbers.

Should this carry on, Tigreal feared that he might lose his city. The captain of the imperial knight shook his head. No, now was not the time to dwell on what could happen. Not when he was still breathing. Turning towards this men, he roared, "Come on men! Your city needs you! To arms!"

The large group of warriors behind him answered him with a fierce war cry. They charged forward and mowed down waves after waves of the abyssal forces.

Well equipped and well trained, they easily ran through the grunts which made up most of the enemy forces. Filled with anger and determination, Tigreal fought relentlessly. As long as he was alive, the city will not fall.

Many lay dead before him. Battle was turning towards their favor. The human forces were pushing them back. A new wave of hope and confidence flew within them. They roared and cheered in joy. Even Tigreal let out a heart left laugh.

However. A huge spear soar through the air and impaled several of his men, successfully putting a stop to their tantrum. Soon more spears followed and they lost many more men. Their armor and shield practically useless against the seer power behind the attacks. No being could throw a spear with such power.

Tigreal was forced to take cover behind a wall, he looked back at his men and grimaced. They lost more men than they should've have. The guards and knights were struggling to get to safety as some spears were powerful enough to actually pierce through walls. "What madness is this!" Tigreal yelled and looked towards the enemies. What he saw shook him to his core.

Ballista's. Actual Ballista's mounted on a wheeled wagons were raining down death to their forces. How on earth did those heathens managed to bring them inside the city itself was a mystery but one this was for sure. It was really effective. "This is madness!" Tigreal mumbled to himself.

"Madness? No......this is SPARTA!"

The Captain had no time to react when he was kicked hard in his chest (Spartan style) and was sent tumbling away. Tigreal had the wind knocked out of his lungs. He gasped for air and struggled to get back up. Turning his gaze towards his attacker, Tigreal snarled venomously, "BloodAxe Berserker Balmond."

"I'm honored you know my name, Warrior of Dawn." The orc smirk mirthfully. The hulking Human stood up and pointed his sword at him, "This was your doing all along!"

Balmond laughed at this, "Perhaps, or maybe not. Why don't we found out, Human." He grinned wildly, his amber eyes filled with blood lust. Balmond pulled out a sinister looking axe. "The hell fire will burn you into ashes!"

Tigreal gripped his sword tighter and with a war cry he charged, "A brave man never hides in a brush."

\---X---

Saya looked at the rescue team she had organised. There were up to twenty good men ready to follow her command. A severe disadvantage in numbers but Saya had a plan.

She organised them in a typical phalanx formation with ten men along with herself at the front-line. Armed with spears and shields, they were the line that was meant to hold back the enemies. Behind them were the rest of the ten men. But unlike the ones in the front. These men carried muskets and bows. They were the real damage dealers, the ones in the front were to protect them.

It was a simple formation. The marksmen were the sword of the group and the phalanx was the shield. Saya tightened her shoulder guards and loosened the collar of her gambeson. True her healing factor would save her form mortal wounds but Saya was not about to take chances. Decapitations in battle field was normal and being limbless in a fight would not do her well. Growing back limbs took time so some extra protecting was always welcome. True that the gambeson clothe armor provided very little protection but it was still better than nothing.

(This is what Saya looks like right now, not the best art but plz bear with it 0w0)

The Sai'ore picked up a shield. Made of wood and metal in a shape of a tear, the kite shield may not cover as much as a great shield but it shall serve them well.

Saya held her spear lightly and gave a flick. Getting used to the eight foot long weapon's weight was a hard task. It had been millenniums since the last time she used one. Warfare would always get shifted towards more ranged focused than melee focused as a species advanced in technology over years. Thus Saya had practically forgotten how up close and personal medieval warfare could be. Shaking her head, she looked back towards the men.

Although they tried to hide it, it was clear that the men were afraid. It was evident in their hushed whispers and shuddering hands. Saya sighed. These were not warriors, but simple guards men. More used to little babbles of city than a full on warfare. They weren't equipped nor trained to do so. Yet, here they were. Trying to save what they held dear.

Turning back towards them, she spoke with a clear voice, "I know that you are scared. There is no point in hiding it."

This made them shocked and even some what ashamed of it. but Saya's next words surprised them, "There is no shame in feeling fear."

Everyone, even Hanabi looked at her intently as Saya spoke forwards, " Fear comes to us as natural as love and hate. There is no shame in fear. The only difference is, will it stop you from acting?"

Her words stunned them. Saya walked forward and picked up an iron helmet, "There is no shame in fear. One cannot be complete without fear. Fear for the lives of your kin. Fear for the fate of your city. Fear what would happen if we are to fail." She held the helmet by her hip and looked back at them, "There is no shame in fear." Pointing at the direction of the enemies, she spoke, "We go to save your kin form the horrors that you fear, so that, that fear will never take a hold of you again. What say you humans? Are you with me?"

She received many nods and mumbles of "Yes."

Not liking their answer Saya asked again, "I said, Are you with me!"

"Yes!" they answered louder.

Still not satisfied, Saya roared, "Has you strength faded you? I SAID, ARE YOU WITH ME!"

With high spirits and vigor they all roared the answer, "YAAAAAAAH!!"

Saya smiled at this in satisfaction. Putting on the helmet she held. "Formation!" she yelled. The group did as commanded, "On ward soldiers!"

"Hooooahhhhh!" they yelled and followed their unofficial leader. All the while Hanabi couldn't help but look at the Sai'ore at the very front of the group. The way how she stirred a group of crumbling people was amazing. The blend of very charismatic and authoritative aura that Saya possessed was unbelievable . The wisdom, the weight and the power Saya's word carry made the kunoichi speechless. It made her wonder, _'Just who are you, Saya Mahira.'_

\---X---

When the sounds of battle echoed throughout the city, Alice couldn't help but smile mischievously. All was going according to plan. Soon she would have what she came for.

She could hear some people fighting in a distance not far from her cell. But she knew exactly who they were and didn't panic at all. The fight was over very quickly and a few figures came before her cell. "Took you long enough." Alice huffed with an annoyed voice.

"Forgive me my Queen. We ran into some difficult situations." Apologized Moskov before opening the cell with once quick motion.

"Oh save your apologies, my pet." Alice cooed. Stepping out of her cell she stretched herself. "Ah, it's good to be out!"

She heard someone cough. Alice looked toward the one who did it and found out it was none other than the guard who had bad mouthed her. He lay backed against the wall with a deadly wound on his stomach.

"Well what do we have here? I believed we know each other." She spoke sweetly and bent down to his level. Breathing heavily, the guard glared at her and mumbled weakly, "Screw you."

"Well that's not nice. No way to treat a lady now, is it?" she said with a fake hurt tone and a pout, causing the dying man to blush, even in such a grave state.

_'Psst, humans are so easy.'_

"I am but quite thirsty, since I had not had anything since I came to this wretched place. Oh well, you will have to do." The guard was confused at first. But when it dawned at him , he got not chance to protest. Alice dug her vampire fangs into the man's jugular. She let out a sensual moan as Alice literally sucked the man dry of his blood. His body became as pale as a husk after she was done. "Ahhh! That hit the spot. Not as good as elven blood but if filled me up."

She turned toward her subjects, who for some reasons were not disturbed by the whole ordeal. Suddenly Alice's tone became darker and serious, "Where is Roderick?"

\---X---

Onward they marched. The men determined and strong, Saya lead them across the decimated city and towards the heart of the enemy. Seeing the destruction left by the Forces of the abyss was making them more and more angry. This was no longer just a rescue mission now, they now wanted vengeance. They wanted blood!

Seeing movement in the shadows, Saya was quick to command, "Shields!"

On her word, the phalanx raised their shields. And in right time as well since a volley of arrows were showered at them. They had ran into a platoon of enemies!

But their ambush was useless thanks to Saya's senses. "Hold fast!" she commanded as they braced with their shields, not letting the missiles go through their defense. Soon the volley eventually stopped and this was just what Saya was looking for, "Marksmen!"

On her command, the men of the back retaliated with bullets and arrows. Hanabi used her higanbana as well. The enemies didn't expected this and were cut down very quickly. And with the phalanx, they had no way to counter attack.

"Retreat!" they yelled and ran away. Saya's men yelled in joy. A small victory but more was to follow.

They marched on till they reached their destination.

The once magnificent boulevard of the city was reddened blood and bodies. Many chained civilians and warriors alike were being taken down the road and being loaded inside huge cages. They had to put a stop to it.

Saya stationed her men in a narrow alley. The enemies had larger numbers but in such narrow space, it meant nothing. According to her human comrades, there was no other way to go around the alley and flank them for about a kilometer. Taking their word, Saya executed her plan.

Walking up to the road, Saya held picked up a stone form the ground and threw it at an orc. This brought the attention of all the enemy forces in the vicinity. "Hey you, Ugly!" she taunted. It was petty and childish tactic but it did the trick. They yelled bloody murder and chased after her. Saya turned tail and bolted towards the alley. The enemies followed without question as rage and blood lust blinded them. This proved to be their undoing as Saya's phalanx was waiting for them in the alley and they were greeted with spears.

"Steady!" barked Saya, joining the fight as well. Her prediction was true, their formation stood strong in the alley. More enemies poured in but the phalanx stood rigid. Suddenly many arrows and bullets rained down from above on the abyssal forces. Turns out that Saya had wit fully stationed the marksmen up on the roof. Lead by Hanabi, they rained down death upon the enemies.

The narrow alley served them very well. It was a death trap of the enemies, but suddenly the enemy forces seized coming. Leaving them confused as the area became devoid of sound.

"I don't like this. It's too quite." One of the guard voiced his mind. Saya couldn't agree more.

"Hey you see anything up there?" asked the guard to his counterpart on top of the roof. The marksman shook his head, "Nothing..." he spoke, until a arrow pierced through his heart and he fell down dead on the ground below. Eyes wide in fear, Hanabi declared, "They are coming from the roofs!"

Upon hearing that, Saya immediately called for their withdrawal and lead them deeper into the alley. Fearing of being overwhelmed, she had to order a tactical retreat. She didn't consider that fact that the enemies would actually scale the walls just to reach them.

"They are trying to flank us!"

It was true as Saya noticed many of the enemies going way ahead of their positions and dropping down. If this carried on than they would have to fight on two fronts. Then the narrow alley will only serve to hamper them as they will have not room manoeuvre. They would be pinned on two sides.

"What do we do?"

That word took Saya aback. They all looked up to her at this. Lost and confused, they looked up to her for guidance. Much like how her people would look up to her for guidance. Seems like the entire existence was like a full circle. Chuckling to herself, she spoke. "I have a plan, but not a convenient one. Will you follow me?" she asked.

"We have followed till now and you didn't lead us astray. And so we will follow you yet again." Answered one of them. The rest nodded in agreement. Saya eyes met Hanabi who was amongst them. The young girl gave a smile and a nod. A strange warmth filled her and Saya nodded as well. "Very well."

Turning forward, Saya raised her shield. "Formation!" the group did as told. "Shields up!" she yelled and the gaurds made a shield wall besides her. "We strike them right in the heart! Soldiers, Charge!" she bellowed. The men roared back and charged forward.

\---X---

With the city under attack, most of the guards had left to defend the city, leaving only a handful back in the castle. This made their job even more easier as Alice, Moskov, Helcurt and a dozen more Abyssal demons made their way towards their destination, the throne room.

Alice dramatically opened the huge doors and addressed cheerfully, "Long time no see my friend!"

King Roderick sat on his thrown with a steel hard expression. "You are not welcome here, Spawn of the Abyss!"

"Funny you say that, because I remember you not being welcome in my humble abode when you attack my place. So if we are gonna be all rude, why not just go all out?" she spoke in a chilling sweet voice, "Pleasantries aside, I've come to reclaim that which is mine." Alice's tone was cold and dangerous now.

The old king stood up from his thrown and slowly unsheathed his sword, "You'll have to go through me, Wench!"

Alice huffed in annoyance, "Someone take him down." The King felt a slight pain behind his back. When he turned around, his blood ran cold. The dark figure of the Shadow bringer stood behind him. Suddenly an excruciating pain coursed through the King's body. He let go of his sword and fell down from his throne in a soundless cry of pain. Helcurt had stung him.

"Don't worry Man-King. This poison will kill you slowly. You will feel every bit of pain before the end."

Alice walked towards the King's prone form and spoke, "Now, tell me where is my wing. Pretty please?"

Roderick glared the woman and spat, "Never!"

"Ohhh, such fire! No worries though. I have ways to make you talk." She purred cruelly.

\---X---

Their plan was suppose to be simple. Flank the human forces that had tried to challenge them and destroy their pathetic resistance. It was simple as it sounded. But they had never expected that those same humans, who were trying to flee a few moments ago, would turn tail and suddenly charge right towards them.

They came roaring at the top of their lungs, shocking and confusing the abyssal forces.

"What are they doing?"

"They are coming right at us!"

"What do we do?"

Their captain barked, "Shut up maggots and hold your ground!" the grunts listened but were clearly nervous. The humans came closer and closer by each second.

"Boss?"

"Hold your ground!" but seeing that the humans didn't slow down only served to scare them even further. Soon the humans reached them, and as expected, they didn't stop. They literally ran through the abyssal forces with their spear. This was all it took to send them into disarray. "Run for your life!" a creep yelled at the top of his lung. It served to panic them even more as they tried to turn around and run out of the alley. They even killed many of their own in the panic fueled stampede.

The human forces burst out of the alley and into the open road. "Don't break formation!" yelled Saya as she killed off many of the grunts. The road became a huge battle ground as more of the Abyssal forces joined the fight. With a severe disadvantage of numbers, Saya had to think fast. They needed more numbers, they needed more men.

The enemies had taken many of the guards and civilians hostage. In fact, this was their main objective. So instead of trying to fight off the entire abyssal forces with just a handful of warriors, Why not bring the entire party?

Turning to one of the guard, she spoke, "Hold them off, I'll free the prisoners!"

The guard was shocked at first but nodded firmly, "Hope you know what you're doing. Everyone formation!" he roared.

With that out of the way, Saya dashed towards the direction of the cages. However to her surprise, Hanabi followed her as well, "Hana? What are you doing here?"

Hanabi glared at her, "What did I told you about running off on your own?"

The persistence of this Human girl was legendary, even Saya admitted. Smiling under her helmet, she spoke, "Not to."

"And friends look out for each other." Saya felt her heart warm at Hanabi's words. With a nod, Saya looked forward, "Very well, neha. We do it your way."

The two fought their way through the enemy waves that was guarding the cages. Saya was lucky that the rest of her men were buying them time as the major portion of the enemy forces were still focused on the phalanx.

The two soon reached the cages. Some of the abyssal forces had discovered their intent and were now coming after them. Hanabi looked at Saya and said with a determined voice, "You go free the prisoners. I'll hold them off."

Saya didn't like the idea of leaving Hanabi on her own but desperate times did call for desperate measures. "Be safe." The Sai'ore spoke before dashing towards the cage. Hanabi turned towards the charging enemies and narrowed her eyes. "Let's see how you fare against this."

She pulled out Higanbana form her back and held it tightly. She let out a breath and slowly took off a seal that had been placed on the charkram. Hanabi muttered a few mantra with a quick sessions of hand seals (Naruto style) and opened her eyes. Her blue eyes, flashed red for a split second. Hanabi, with all her might, hurled the charkram towards the enemies and yelled loudly, "HIGANBANA!"

The chakram glowed brightly and spun furiously towards them. As soon as the chakram touched the ground, a bright colored explosion occurred. Followed by many thorny tendrils sprouting out of the ground and taking a hold of the enemies. With them immobilized, the tendrils then went off in a series of explosions, like a spectacular display of fireworks. Very true to Hanabi's name, which meant 'fireworks' in Japanese.

This shocked all the people in the cages. Even Saya was left with her mouth hanging open behind her helmet. As if Hanabi knew of Saya's astonishment. She turned towards the Sai'ore. Flicking her hand, Higanbana flew right back towards its owner. Saya didn't needed Hanabi to remove her mask to know that she had a smug look. Saya looked away and scoffed, _"Show off."_

With that taken care of, Saya proceeded to free all the prisoners. They all came out, happy and rejoicing, thanking both Saya and Hanabi for their kindness. But sadly, the fight was not over. Saya spoke with her yet again booming voice, "Citizens of Mossenia, you are free now. But not for long. The one's who did this to your city are still here, and they will not stop until this city is but a pile of ash and rubble."

She looked everyone in the eyes, and spoke further, "Your brothers are still fighting with their lives for the freedom of your city. Outmatch and outnumbered, they still fight. Tell me, are you gonna sit back and watch as these men sacrifice their lives for you?"

Her words were positively stirring the population by now, "I say we stand our ground and show them that we are not cowards. That we are not something that they can just enslave. Let's show them that we can indeed fight!"

The crowd reacted positively. "Gather your men! Arm your selves! We go to battle at once!" they need not be told twice. Every soldier, every citizen, every guard, armed themselves with whatever weapon they could fashion.

"To Arms!" Saya bellowed.

"TO ARMS!" they roared back and showered the combined might of frustrated prisoners on the unsuspecting abyssal forces.

The enemies stood no chance. The human force's might was too much. They had to flee and at least after several hours of battle, the third wall was free of enemies.

The population cheered. They drove back the abyss, they freed their home. The twilight was slowly chasing away the darkness of the night. The atmosphere was that of joy and tears. People hugged and congratulated each other at the hard earned victory. Saya sat heavily on the roadside, her helmet down beside her. She looked the humans rejoicing at their victory. A part of her was happy that she too had a part in this outcome. She felt someone come and sit beside her. Saya came to know it was none other than Hanabi and she had an amused expression. The Sai'ore raised her eye brow at this, "What?"

"My-my, Saya-san. Who knew you had such a way with the crowd. Consider me highly impressed." She spoke playfully.

A light blush sprinkled Saya's cheeks as she smiled coyly, "Oh, Thank you."

The two laughed a small but hearty laugh at this. However their attention went towards the crowd that had formed before them. Saya and Hanabi were confused at first but a man walked forward and spoke, "We had lost hope. Yet you came out of nowhere and filled us all with hope. Had it not been you, this victory would've been impossible. Please accept our gratitude."

With that he kneeled. Soon the rest of the crowd did as well.

Not used to such treatment Hanabi fidgeted bashfully. Saya looked at the man for a while before letting out a sigh. She walked forward and held his shoulder, "You need not kneel, My friend. I am not your better." With that she helped him up. With a small smile, she spoke further, "I am but someone who just gave you directions. It was you who achieved this victory."

Her words awed everyone. "This victory is due to all the brave souls who fought, bled and gave their life for the ones they loved. They are the ones who should be respected. Not me.......so please, Do not dishonor me by bowing to me." She spoke genuinely. Her answer only but made them even more awed with her, especially Hanabi. No pride, nor vanity, just pure genuine truth. Truly Saya was a mysterious enigma.

"The second wall." Someone in the crowd spoke. This caused all of them to look at the other district of the city.

"It's still smoking."

Saya closed her eyes. The battle was still not over it seemed. But she was not tired at the moment and it was clear that the crowd still had some fight left within them , "How about be lend them a hand, huh?"

The humans nodded eagerly at this, "We will be honored to ride beside you, Milady."........................................ 


	7. Taking back the city

It was decided that the group was going to act as reinforcements for the soldiers back in the second wall. With the number of total five hundred. Saya believed that they could sufficiently help the fight.

Times were desperate and they had no choice but to salvage items and equipments form whatever means necessary. They raided armories, blacksmiths shops and in some cases even had to take usable equipments form the fallen bodies. Times were desperate indeed.

It took a while but they were now properly outfitted with gear and weapons and were ready for battle. Satisfied with what she had created, Saya lead the militia straight through the main boulevard leading all the way towards the castle.

Suddenly, someone from the crowd spoke out, "I found something folks, and you're gonna love it!"

Somehow Hanabi had a bad feeling about this.

\---X---

Tigreal gritted his teeth as he blocked yet another attack form the crazed orc. Balmond growled and pressed his attack once again. The human avoided his attack and slashed his sword at him. Balmond avoided the attack meant to relieve him of his head and took a few steps backward. Giving both of them a wide girth to take a few breath.

The Imperial knight captain had to agree, this orc was strong. Far stronger than anything he had faced.

"You truly are a remarkable opponent. I wish we could've sparred in a more suitable circumstances."

The orc laughed at this, "You're not too shabby yourself, Human. Alas, flattery will only get you this far."

Tigreal's expression turned hard. Balmond held his axe with his two arms and charged forward. The captain matched the charge with equal furiosity. There they engaged in a fearsome combat. Tigreal was controlled, disciplined and precise, While Balmond was brash, wild and unpredictable. Both equally deadly and powerful in their own right.

"Why do you keep resisting? Your city is already lost!" roared Balmond, performing a downward slash. Rolling out of the way, Tigreal used his shield to charge bash the orc and yelled back, "As long as I breathe, this city will not fall!"

Balmond held his jaw where he was hit pretty hard with Tigreal's shield and growled, "Ignorant human. Don't know when to quit."

"Cause unlike you, I fight till the end and not give in like a slave!" shot Tigreal back. This made Balmond freeze for a while. The Captain had heard about this Orc who called himself Balmond. How he tried to fight for the freedom of Orc kind, only to end up as a lap dog of the Blood Demon Queen.

Balmond's body shook with uncontrollable rage. "You know nothing." The edge in the orc's was evident. And the fact that he spoke so lowly, agitated Tigreal even more. He must've hit a nerve. Balmond looked up with fire burning in his eyes and bellowed angrily, "YOU KNOW NOTHING!!!!"

Brandishing his axe, Balmond attacked relentlessly. So consumed he was in rage that Balmond lost all thoughts of self esteem. It was as if he was in a battle trench. Fueled with rage, Balmond's attacks were like a whirlwind. Putting Tigreal in a constantly defensive stance. But his attacks kept coming without stopping, soon Tigreal couldn't hold on and his shield was knocked away from his hand. The captain, fell on his back on the ground. He tried to get up but an axe was pointed right at his face.

The battle trench left him and Balmond was again in full control. Looking down at the captain he spoke, "Stay down Human. And I may yet spare you."

That was it. Tigreal couldn't believe it. He had lost. He failed his king, his city, his everything. Despair consumed him as he lay defeated down on the ground, starring at the slowly rising sun, which was peeking form the mountain peaks so far away.

A new day was arriving and for the first time, Tigreal wasn't able to greet it with a smile on his face.

The first rays of the sun was considered as a sign of hope in the land of dawn, yet he could feel none form the soft rays that heralded the start of the day.

Or so he though.

Hoofs. That was exactly what he heard. The sound was unmistakable. Hoofs stomping violently of the stone road and by the sound of it, there were many of it.

Both of them look towards the direction from where the sound was coming and gasped, "Cavalry?"

\---X---

Horses were indeed one of the most remarkable creature Saya had seen. The Sai'oren Ex-empress looked at the large equine with awe and wonder. The men had found one of the still intact stables housing the horses. And as luck would have it, most of the horses were still alive.

"Akambani...." She muttered, speaking the Sai'oren word for 'fascinating'. Hanabi looked at her in disbelief, "You don't know what a horse is?"

Saya laughed at this and shook her head. These 'Horses' had been along with the race of humans since the time unknown. Not knowing what one is was a concept very foreign for the human girl. But the same could be said for Hanabi as well for she too had no idea about the ferocious Vor'anak or the mighty Sirayan Grathons.

**(These are the creatures form my novel. They are not exactly important for this story but since Saya is of Siraya, she will describe and compare many aspects of Land of Dawn with what she had seen back in her home planet to maintain immersion.)**

Carefully Saya brought her hand closer to the beast. The horse itself was quite unsure of her presence. As if it knew that Saya was not amongst the one's it was familiar with. She was much alien to it as it was to her. Still she slowly ran her hand across its jet black fur. The coat was soft and well kept. A far cry from the rough and very thick wool most of the Sirayan fauna had. A bit more confident, she stroke the creature more, trying not to agitate it more and convince it that she meant no harm.

"Such a fine beast it is. But why are we here, we should get moving." Spoke Saya.

"That we do Milady. But don't you suppose our forces could use a Cavalry?" answered one of the men who was saddling each of the horses. Saya frowned at this. The concept of mounts in battle was not new for her. She had done it herself on many battles in her younger days before Sai'ore made automated vehicles. But she dough the capability of the animal before her. Sai'ore used Vor'anaks as war mounts for centuries because of their violent and brave nature. They were natural predators. But Horses looked more like a prey at best. Its docile appearance made it clear that it didn't had much fighting ability. She did however noticed its legs. Long and pack with muscles, Saya realized that Horse mount was more for speed than for combat prowess. It might even pack a mean kick if situation was too dire. Seeing no harm in it. Saya asked to the man, "How many horses are available for the battle."

The man held his chin as spoke, "Some of them were injured when the stable roof fell down, but we have about thirty horses ready for action."

"Fair enough. I want an able rider and a marksman to mount each horse. Tell them to be ready by fifteen minutes."

The man nodded at this.

Saya felt something nudge her. Turning back she saw that the dark horse was nudging her arm with its muzzle. As if it was trying to speak with her. Saya looked the creature in its eyes and felt amazement brew inside her. "And I will take this one to the Battle." Saya declared.

The man looked at her with uncertainty, "Are you sure? That mare is quite old, Milady."

"That is true, my friend. But her spirit is still burning bright. I will not deny her of that."

"Very well, Milady."

\---X---

"I thought that you didn't know how to ride a horse ,Saya-san." Asked Hanabi nervously.

"You're mistaken ,Dear Miss Hana. I just said I had not seen a horse before." Corrected Saya sweetly.

"That doesn't make it any better."

"Hm...Would you like to take the reins than?"

Hanabi looked the other way and huffed. It was clear she didn't knew how to ride a horse as well. Saya laughed inwardly, finding Hanabi's childishly stubborn antics intriguing. She looked back at the human girl sitting behind her. Arms crossed, it was clear that Hanabi was pouting. 

The Sai'ore looked beyond her and saw her army. Thirty horsemen armed with spears with a bowmen sitting behind them. Saya advised against Gunmen this time as muskets were too slow to reload. Behind the cavalry was the large number of on-foot soldiers.

Saya nodded at them in acknowledgement as they nodded back. She looked forward and concentrated. Hanabi was right; she had not ridden a horse before in her life. But having ridden similar things way back before, Saya was quick to learn.

The gates of the second wall drew closer. She could practically hear the sounds of war form the other side. The men behind here were shaking with excitement; even their horse was restless and anxious. Saya let out a breath and put on her helmet once again. Slowly she raised her spear high in the air for all to see. They got the signal and the horse started trotting faster.

As they drew closer, the adrenaline pumped in their veins even more violently. Soon the Cavalry started galloping and the men yelled out a loud war cry. "On Ward!" Saya bellowed.

"For Mossenia!" they answered.

Pointing their spears forward, they galloped straight into the fray.

\---X---

Tigreal and Balmond looked in complete shock as a Human Cavalry came riding form the third wall district and wreaked havoc inside the Abyssal forces.

The riders came swift and fast, their spears running down enemies here and there. The bowmen at the back taking out many of the enemies missed by the rider. Their ballista was all but useless as the horses were too fast to hit.

The most noticeable was the rider with a eastern kunoichi assassin sitting behind. Female by the looks of it. Her attire was like any of the guardsmen or the soldier, but the way she lead the forces against the enemies was what made her stand out so much.

Then to their surprise, more soldiers started pouring out of the third gate. Screaming bloody murder, they clashed viciously with the Abyssal forces.

"NO!" yelled Balmond. This was not supposed to happen!

They were suppose to win, not lose because some angry citizen suddenly took up arms and decided to murder every abyss forces they see.

So engrossed Balmond was in his anger that he totally forgot about his opponent. Tigreal picked his sword and slowly stood. The orc heard him standing up and turned around to face.

With labored breaths, Tigreal wiped the blood on his mouth and spoke, "I told you. As long as I live, the city will not fall." Balmond glared at the human heatedly and attacked.

Anticipating such response, Tigreal whirled his way out of the attack and trusted his sword forward. Intending it stab the orc. Balmond avoided it, but by a very small margin as Tigreal's sword gazed by his stomach and left a light cut. Grunting in pain and annoyance, Balmond used his cyclone sweep once again.

Knowing the power of the attack before hand, Tigreal rolled away and picked up his shield once again. He brought his shield up to block his attacks. Balmond attacked the shield relentlessly, but Tigreal wasn't making the same mistake once again. Digging his feet on the ground and holding his shield tight, Tigreal let out a shout and shield charged towards the unsuspecting Berserker. When Tigreal's shield collided with Balmond, it caused the orc to actually stop the attack. Seizing this opportunity, the Imperial knight Captain let out a roar and performed a powerful upward slash. The attack was so powerful that when Balmond tried to block it with his axe, Tigreal's sword cut right through the axe and its two halves were sent flying away out of Balmond's grip.

Now completely unarmed, Balmond could only look speechlessly as Tigreal stood tall and proud before him with his sword pointed at Balmond threateningly. "Yield and I may yet spare you."

The orc looked around him. His forces were nearly defeated. Not long before they would lose it completely. It was unbelievable. Just when they thought that they would win, here comes these peoples, turning the tide of battle upside down. Balmond let out an amused laugh at this. It was like a freaking 'Epic comeback'.

"You surprise me Human. Well done indeed." He laughed, making Tigreal confused.

"Your forces are losing and you find this amusing?" Balmond laughed loudly at this.

"Ha! Irony had its own humor, Warrior of Dawn." Balmond noticed something back sneaking in the shadows behind him. Knowing exactly what it must be, He addressed back at the Human, "Till we meet again, Human."

His words confused Tigreal. That was until suddenly everything around his vicinity grew dark. As if light itself was devoured, Tigreal was surrounded by complete darkness. Soon the darkness around him faded and when he regained his vision, Balmond was long gone. The human looked around and found out that the orc was indeed gone. Tigreal looked up at the sky, it was morning by now and the sun as rising. A small smile graced his face, "Till we meet again."

\---X---

With the combined efforts of the cavalry, the reinforcements, the citizens of Mesonia forced the Abyssal forces to retreat back from where they came from. Tigreal looked at the soldiers who were cheering loudly at their well earned victory. Wave of warmth and satisfaction filled his heart. They had done it. The battle was over.

"You must be, Captain Tigreal." An unfamiliar voice called. The man turned around and was surprised at see that it was the rider he saw back then along with the female ninja. He was even more surprised when she took off her helmet and she turned out to be an 'elf', "It's good to finally meet you in person." She spoke respectfully and extended her hand.

Tigreal hesitantly took to and gave a firm shake, "Pardon me if I sound disrespectful but I don't recall having an elf in the city guards."

Saya laughed at this and was about to explain herself but Hanabi beat her to it and spoke heatedly, "You kidding me? She just helped save the city and you start questioning her!" she seemed angry right now, making Tigreal sweat bullets. Before things got out of hand, Saya held Hanabi back, "Now-now Neha Hanabi, that's not nice." She chided lightly, making Hanabi glare at her instead. Making Saya sweat comically.

"Oh, I remember now. You were with the reinforcements from the Third wall. Is it true then? You lead them?"

The Sai'ore nodded and explained patiently, "The enemies had captured several hostages. More than they should have. All we did was freed the captives and gave them a little push." Saya smiled and looked at the celebrating population. "They are the ones who did most of the work."

Her modesty impressed Tigreal. Bowing slightly he said sincerely, "On behalf of the King and the city, I thank you."

Saya bowed back in response. Both could agree that they now had a mutual respect.

"I was the one with the most kills." Grumbled Hanabi, kicking some peddles on the ground. Causing them all to share a hearty laugh.

"We should inform this king at once." Declared Tigreal. But suddenly he felt a chill throughout his body. Noticing his shock, Saya asked, "Captain, what's wrong?"

"The King!" he yelled in horror. Not wasting any more time, Tigreal ran towards the castle. Saya narrowed her eyes and went after him, "Come Hana!" she called.

"Wait up!" Hanabi called and dashed after the Empress. Hearing about their king, a small group of guards came along as well. All the way, Tigreal cursed himself for his foolishness. He cursed himself for leaving the king alone.

\---X---

With hurried steps, they made their way through the stone floors of the castle. Tigreal burst through the throne room's door and yelled, "King Roderick!"

His blood ran cold.

There, on the floor, laid the king. His body pale and blue, he laid motionless.

Tigreal fell to his knees. Soon Saya, Hanabi and the guards came in as well and saw the state the king was in. Hanabi covered her mouth with her hand, Saya looked solemn, while the guards hung their head low in grief. Tigreal kneeled before the king and kept on muttering 'how he had failed him', over and over again.

Saya looked at the king's form intently before walking over him. On seeing this, Tigreal asked sharply, "What are you doing!"

But Saya mumbled a low, "Quite." Kneeling beside the king, she held the king's hand. Or more exactly his wrist. After a few seconds, Saya felt it. A slight throb.

"He is still alive." she declared, shocking everyone. Tigreal immediately came to her side, "Are you sure? Please Miss Elf don't play some cruel joke!"

Saya gave him an annoyed look (because he called her an elf.) but spoke nonetheless, "He is alive but barely." She checked the king's neck, "His body is too cold." She turned the king's head and opened the king's closed eyes. Totally ignoring Tirgeal's outraged expression, "Pupils are not responding."

Saya then placed her hand on the king's chest, "His breathing too slowly." Saya searched the king's body for wounds and finally found a cut on the man's hand. The skin around the cut had turned blue by now. Saya grimaced at this, "Just as I feared."

Tigreal turned to her with an expression of urgency, "What happened to him?"

Saya spoke with a serious tone, "He was injected a lethal dose of a strong Neuro-toxin." On getting baffled expressions on her answer, Saya sighed and simplified her statement, "Your king is poisoned."

Understanding the severity of the situation, Tigreal panicked. "What do we do?"

"Calm down!" Saya ordered, making him stop his tantrum. Turning back to the King, Saya frowned, the poison had spread to much greater part of his body so tying his infected arm would be useless. "We have to remove the poison out of his system....." she turned and looked at everyone of them and spoke with a very-very serious voice, "You are not to mention this to anyone." Her voice came out scarier than she intended as they nodded vigorously, not wanting to defy her anytime soon. Letting out a breath, Saya steeled herself and unwilling pressed her mouth upon the open wound. Then she proceeded to literally suck the poison out of the king's body.

The specters were left flabbergasted as Saya sucked and spit out the poison in their King's body. After several agonizing minutes, Saya was about to get as much poison form the king's body as she could. She turned back towards her audience who were looking at her with a mixture of awe and disgust. Wiping her mouth and resisting the urge to puke, Saya just commented, "Don't try this at home."

(Seriously don't. Sucking poison out of a wound is a very dangerous task. Saya did it because she had her healing factor that could bail her out of trouble, and it's still ill-advised.)

Jokes aside, Tigreal was the first to recover from his shock and speak, "So...um. I-is it done?"

Saya sighed dejectedly at this, "I managed to take out most of the poison form his system but a small amount is still there that I cannot remove. Now we can only hope that your king has enough strength to keep fighting."

The Captain looked down at his king with sorrow. There was nothing they could do more.

"Um, will this help?"Hanabi spoke with uncertainty. Tigreal turned to see what she was talking about and his eyes widened. There in Hanabi's hand was a medicine potion. "I had one for my back pain but I think he needs it more."

Saya held her chin at this, "Although the medicine isn't too refined, but its capabilities are not to be questioned. The potion can nullify the remaining poison." But Tigreal gulped nervously at this, "The king won't like it." Saya was confused at his comment but didn't question him for now. 

Hanabi went over to them and with Saya's help emptied the bottle of elixir into the king's mouth. With a quick motion, Saya made Roderick swallow the whole thing.

Moments passed. Hanabi rubbed her hands nervously. "Did it work?"

Suddenly, the king's body flushed in color and he coughed violently. "I suppose it did." Replied Saya.

"My King!" Tigreal yelled in joy as the guards cheered. However the king then started cursing, "Curse that blasted doctor and his Blasted Medicine! I swear I'll strangle him. You hear! I'll strangle him!"

Saya looked with upmost amusement while Hanabi hide behind her, shaking in fear. _'So that's why Tigreal was so nervous.'_

"My King! Take a hold of yourself !" pleaded the Captain holding the old man.

"Tigreal? *cough- cough* what happened?" suddenly his memories jolted and the king sprung up to his feet, "THE CITY!"

Tigreal laughed at this, "Peace My king. The City is no longer in danger."

This made the king pause. Slowly he turned towards his knight and asked, "Can it true? Did we win?" with a proud smile Tigreal declared, "Yes my King."

Roderick was so happy and glad that tears flowed down his eyes. He touched his heart but stopped as he felt something off. He checked his body again but he couldn't find it. The vault key. It was lost!

"Are you alright my king?" asked Tigreal in worry as Roderick's joy suddenly turned into distress. But then his memories flooded back. "Alice." His distress turned into pure horror when he realized what had just happened. "We need to stop her!" he yelled but it was too late.

"Oh my, I was really hoping that you would die."

Everyone turned to look at the owner of the voice. Tigreal narrowed his eyes and hissed, "Alice."

The demon queen gave a mock bow, "The one and only. And now, even better." Alice smirked turned around.

"It cannot be." Tigreal whispered in pure horror. There it was, glistening as if coated with blood. The Wings of Apocalypse had returned to its master.

"Come on men! There is one on of her! We can take her!"One of the guards bellowed. The rest roared in agreement and charged, totally ignoring the Captain who was telling them not to.

This was their last mistake for now; the queen of the blood demons was much more powerful than before.

"Turn everything to Darkness!"

As if a Pandora box had been unleashed, every guard that had been surrounding Alice was suddenly engulfed in huge blood like dome. Sounds of bat screeching could be heard as the Guards inside the dome tired to get out, but in vain. When the dome dissipated, all the guards lay dead. Their body devoid of any blood.

Alice smacked her lips sensually, "Ah, I hadn't had such a filler in so long. It's almost nostalgic!"

Tigreal gritted his teeth, "Damn it, she is too strong!"

The queen of apocalypse turned toward the captain knight with hungry eyes. That was until a kunai was thrown towards her. Alice avoided the attack and turned towards her attacker with an annoyed expression, "Would you mind? A lady is trying to have some snack."

"Have this then!" Hanabi yelled throwing Higanbana at Alice. The Demoness deflected the attack with her bare hand, shocking the Kunoichi.

"Nani?"

Alice then hurled a blood red orb at the young girl. Hanabi stepped out of the Orb's way but to her surprise, Alice suddenly appeared where the orb was moments ago. She knew not what sorcery she did, but Alice touched the ground, leaving some sort of shock wave. And now no matter how much she tried, Hanabi just couldn't move.

The Demon held Hanabi's chin and looked in her eyes, "You know, I always like my prey young." She whispered. Sending waves of dread down her body. Alice reared her head back and opened her fanged mouth. She was about to sink her teeth into Hanabi's neck but before that could happen.

Alice felt a round house kick connect to her face. It hit her with so much force that the Demon Queen was send flying and spinning through the air before falling down on the floor.

Hanabi was shocked at this, for Saya now stood before her. And she looked angry. Throughout the entire war, Hanabi has seen Saya calm and collected. But seeing her genuinely angry made her scared. Yet it also had an overwhelming sense of security as well. Like a guardian, Hanabi had not dough that Saya would protect her no matter what. She felt that nothing could harm her as long as Saya was with her.

As for Alice. She rubbed her soar cheek where the kick connected. "That's wasn't nice." She grumbled and looked at her attacker. What she saw shook her to core.

There stood Saya. Her face overshadowed. And Eyes practically glowing in rage (Anime style).

She looked Alice in the eyes and spoke in a chillingly cold tone, "Hands off."...........................................


	8. The Queen and the Empress

Silence surrounded them. None spoke a work as the two stared daggers towards each other. It was Alice who broke the silence first by letting out a smug smile, "We meet again." 

"I don't recall meeting one such as you before." Replied Saya coolly. 

Alice placed her hand on her heart in a fake hurt expression, "How could you be so cruel? I thought we had our moment back then!" confusing the hell out of the rest of the occupants in the room. 

Saya scoffed at this, "If your 'moment' translates to you trying to bewitch me, than I have concerns for your mental stability." 

"So you do care!" Alice chirped, bugging the hell out of the Sai'ore. 

'Seriously, what is her problem.' 

The hold on Alice's spell on Hanabi seemed to have worm off and she feel down to her knee. Saya was immediately by her side and asked with a worried voice, "Are you well, Neha?"   
The kunoichi shook his head to chase away the ringing she felt and looked up at Saya, "Yes, I am fine. Thank you for asking Saya-san." The (much) older woman gave her a reassuring smile. However Saya's ears perked up just in time. 

"You should watch your back." Whispered Alice, who had covered the distance between herself and Saya. Her razor sharp nails were ready to shred Saya into ribbons of gore. Yet the Demon queen underestimated the Sai'oren empress. Before Alice's could execute her cheap shot, Saya had already put her sword between herself and the attack in less than a blink of an eye.   
Saya turned and met Alice's purple eyes with her own snake-like green ones. Alice's breath hitched. Those eyes. Those same eyes filled with the same intensity she had seen from afar. To see it form this close was something entire different. Alice couldn't help but feel her stomach do flip-flop. Saya scoffed. Unsheathing her sword in one fluid motion, she slashed her sword towards Alice. Much to her annoyance, the Demon queen teleported away just in time and avoided the attack. 

Standing up tall, Saya spoke in a tone worthy of that of Royalty, "Your forces are defeated. Your allies have left you and you're out numbered. Surrender now and your fate will be less unpleasant." 

Alice giggled like a school girl at this. Looking Saya back in her eyes, she spoke mischievously, "Make me." 

Saya let out a sigh and held her sword with two hand. Getting on a slightly lower stance, She slowly circled the Demoness. Alice looked at her an amused smile and gave a 'Come heather' gesture. Saya narrowed her eyes at this. The white haired woman was leaving herself wide open. Was she really so cocky or was it on purpose, Saya didn't knew. Guess she would have to find out. 

Slowly Saya inched forward. She made one last eye contact with the demon queen and charged. Alice expected this as hurled a blood orb in Saya's direction. The Sai'ore danced around the attack. Suddenly, Alice teleported at the blood orb's position but Saya was ready for this. She slashed her sword towards Alice before she even teleported and when Alice did teleported, she found herself, right in the sword's path. In a haste defense, Alice crossed her arms and used her arm braces to keep the sharp sword at bay. 

"I should've known tricks like this will not work on you." Alice spoke with an impressed voice. Saya replied her with an equally un-amused voice, "Are trick all you got in a fight?"   
"Trust me darling, you'll find more than a few tricks up my sleeve." 

With that, Alice prepared to use her another ability. When Saya realized this, it was too late. Alice had used her 'Blood Awe' and immobilized Saya on her tracks. Cursing in Sai'oren, Saya looked at Alice with an annoyed face. No anger, nor fear, just plain annoyance, it made Alice even more compelled by this Saya character. 

"You really are an odd one aren't you, Elf?"   
"I think we both know that I'm not an elf."   
"Hehe, True......So. A bit too far from home aren't you, Darling?" 

Saya shook her head at Alice's cheesy lines, "Let's keep this professional." With that Saya broke free of Alice's hold and attacked. The Queen laughed and tried her best to avoid and deflect Saya's attacks, "Aw, but where's the fun in that?" 

Oblivious to their exchanges, Hanabi looked towards the fight with a worried expression. She knew Saya was strong but Alice was probably a lot stronger. Seeing her struggle to keep up with the demon queen, Hanabi turned to Tigreal and yelled, "We have to help her!" 

Recovering from his zoned out state, Tigreal was quick to nod and joined the fray as well.   
Alice was surprised as Hanabi and Tigreal charged towards her with a war cry, forcing her to make some distance while constantly dodging their attacks. 

"Oh how rude. Maybe the little girl was getting jealous." Alice commented while winking at Saya. Her words flew over Hanabi's head for she didn't understood, but it had an Impact on Saya. Though hard to noticed, but Alice actually saw Saya's breath hitched for a split second. Had it not been her excellent control over her expressions, Saya would've blushed by now. Seeing the slight crack in the stern woman's demeanor made Alice let out a grin. 

"As amusing this is. I cannot have you interrupting our moment. Go play with someone else." Alice said uncaringly and snapped her finger. The ground beneath them started shaking violently. Cracks formed on the stone floor as it widened further and further, shocking them immensely. A deep growl vibrated throughout the throne room. Huge stone arm sprout out of the crack. They watched in horror as another stone arm came out as well, then a head, soon the entire body followed. 

Hanabi looked with wide eyes and hanging mouth at the twenty foot tall stone behemoth. "What is that thing?" she cried. 

Roderick looked at the giant with equally baffled expression. "A Stone titan. Never would I have imagined that I would have to face one. And on such a sorry state no less."   
The Stone titan looked down at them with its glowing red eyes and let out a dreadful roar.   
(imagine the red buff at the right side of the jungle area.) 

Tigreal frowned at this, "But I heard that Stone Titans were gentle and kind creatures, what's wrong with this one?" 

The king looked towards Alice with disgust, "The Seductive nature of the Demon queen's sorcery has perverted even the most purest of heart. No dough this is her doing as well."   
The Titan bellowed and brought its arm down to crush them. Not willing to be a paste under its arm, Tigreal shoved the king out of the way while Hanabi rolled away. 

"Hanabi!" Saya yelled in worry. Upon finding out that the human girl was safe, she let out a breath of relief.   
The Titan's arm made its arm sized crater due to its attack on the floor. Seeing that it's attack missed, the Titan howled in anger and stomped towards its targets. Its hulking steps making the ground tremble. 

Saya frowned at this, "I must help them." She mumbled and running towards them.   
"Leaving so soon?" 

The Sai'ore groaned in annoyance at this, "I don't have time for you."   
For some reason, Saya's answer ticked off Alice more than it should have.   
"Did you just turned me down? DID YOU JUST TURN ME DOWN!" she yelled in pure anger. Saya simply scoffed in reply, causing Alice's to turn red in rage. 

"DON'T YOU IGNORE ME!" she yelled and tackled Saya to the ground. 

"uff!" Saya groaned with Alice trying to strangle her. But what Alice didn't knew was that, wrestling was one of Saya's specialties. She broke free of Alice's hold and flipped the confused smaller woman over. Twisting Alice's arm behind her back, Saya pinned the demoness down and hissed lowly, "Your really starting to annoy me now, Kari."   
*Kari is the Sai'oren word for woman* 

Alice groaned in pain for a while but noticed the position they were in. With Saya sitting over her in such a dominating position, Alice let out a sensual smile and spoke suggestively, "Pet-names already, Darling? Aren't we getting intimate." 

Though her expression was passive, a blush spread across Saya's porcelain white cheeks, making it so much more noticeable. "Would you stop that already." 

Alice giggled and teleported away from Saya. The Sai'ore stood up and readied herself for another attack. The Demoness spread her wings and suggested, "It's too crowded here. Why don't we take this outside?" confusing Saya. For a second her guard broke and Alice needed just that.

Hanabi looked in horror as Alice came crushing down on Saya and swooped the Sai'ore off her feet. Before anyone could do anything, Alice threw Saya out of the nearby window. 

"Saya-san!" she cried out. Oh how she wanted to speed off towards her and check whether Saya was alright or not. Alas, she had even more pressing matters. Like a giant angry Stone Titan wanting to make a paste out of her. She had no other choice but to pray for Saya's safety.   
  
  


\---X---

  
  
"Curses." Saya spat, as she was sent speeding down. As soon as Alice threw her out of the window Saya found herself falling from a good five hundred meter height form the Castle and down to the ground below. A fall form this height would most likely crush her entire body, which would take many hours for her healing factor to heal; something which she cannot afford right now for she had no time. She was still in the middle of a fight. 

Angling her body in mid air, Saya reached, pushing a quick burst towards the fingers of her right hand to strengthen them considerable. She grabbed into one of the many ledges lining the castle walls (Assassins creed style). She gritted her teeth as she held on tight with great strength to break her fall. It worked but not without consequences . A fall form that height had generated enough moment in her body that when she held on to the ledge, she experienced a shock equal to what she would feel on impact with floor on the ledge's height. Enough to pop out the shoulder bone form its socket. Knowing that her dislocated shoulder wouldn't be able to hold on much longer, Saya quickly held on to the ledge with her other hand. 

She was thankful for her healing powers for it was working immediately to heal her dislocated shoulder. Saya hissed in pain as her shoulder was forcefully shoved back in its socket with an audible 'pop' and her torn muscles kitted itself back together. Even after all these years, it was still painful. 

"I knew you would find a way to save yourself." Called a painfully familiar voice. Saya groaned, using both of her hands to hold the ledge and hoist herself up on it. Hugging the wall as not to fall off the terribly narrow space. Saya glared at the winged woman who was hovering before her. 

Seeing Saya's expression Alice gave an 'innocent' smile and exclaimed, "Don't look at me like that! I just wanted us to be alone!" seriously the woman was crazy. 

"Anyways......." Alice's smile turned into an evil one, "Let's play, shall we?" With that Alice summoned blood red orbs in her hands. 

"You are crazy." 

\---X---

Hanabi was having a very-very bad time.   
The Stone Titan was hell bent on making a pancake out of them and they had no way to actually stop it. King Roderick was in no condition to fight. The sheer size of the behemoth made it impossible for them to engage it in a melee combat, making Tigreal obsolete. As for herself. Hanabi's ranged attacks were an improvement over Tigreal's sword and shield, but turns out that her kunai and Higanbana was practically useless against its stone hide. It served only to further enrage the Titan. 

Bellowing loudly, the Stone Titan used its arms to crush them. It was their quick feet that prevent them from getting squashed, but it was clear that this couldn't go on much longer.   
Hanabi tired hitting it again with her chakram but still the same result. 

"It's useless! Stone Titan cannot be harmed with physical attacks!" yelled King Roderick.   
The Ninja girl looked at the old man with a deadpan look, "And your telling me this now!"   
Deciding that the human girl was more annoying than the other two occupants, the titan lumbered towards Hanabi, its eyes set solely on her. She turned blue with fear and ran away, screaming ,"Help me!" 

Tigreal looked at the titan with determination. The ninja needed his help and his honor demanded that he help those in need. 

"Wait Tigreal, your attacks will be useless against that beast." 

The Imperial knight captain gritted his teeth in frustration as truth hit him hard. He was useless right now. A loud cry brought him out of his thoughts, forcing him to turn his eyes towards the titan. His eyes widened in horror as the stone abomination had the young kunoichi in its grasp as Hanabi tried in vain to break free of its grasp. No he couldn't leave her to her fate. His honor would not allow him. With his iron will firm, he said firmly, "I know my King. But I am a Warrior of the light; I cannot leave her like this." 

The king looked at him with solemn eyes, "I know....so take this." He mumbled presenting his sword towards Tigreal. The Captain's breath hitched at the sight of the magnificent golden sword. 

'The sword of Dawn.'   
"But......My king?" 

Roderick looked away bitterly, "My fighting days are over. I am too old and frail for this sword.....But you on the other hand....." He rested his sword in the hands of the still speechless Tigreal. Giving a firm look Roderick commanded, "Now go forth my knight, and return victorious!" 

Tigreal stood speechless as he looked at the legendary sword than back at his king. So many emotions swirled inside him that it was a miracle that he didn't get overwhelmed by it. But now was not the time. Shaking his head he focused back at the task at hand. Giving the King a last bow, he turned towards the Titan. Holding the sword firmly, he charged towards the Behemoth, letting out his famous war cry, "A brave man never hides in a brush!" 

\---X---

With countless magic orbs hurled towards her, Saya was having a very hard time as well. She had to leave the ledge and jump towards another nearby one. With more orbs trying to fry her alive, Saya had to leave that place as well. 

It had essentially become a game of cat and mouse Or rather a monkey and a flying-orb-shooting-madwoman. 

"Haha! You're quite skilled in climbing aren't you? How entertaining!" remarked Alice as Saya skillfully dodged her orbs in an impressive display of agility and parkour as Saya used the treacherous environment to move around. She jumped, she climbed, she rolled, and she shimmied. All the while avoiding Alice's attacks and trying to gain some distance from her. Easier said than done as Saya had many close calls where she could have fallen down when some of Alice's attacks hit her. 

What made it even worst was the fact that Alice seemed to be enjoying this. On many occasions, Alice could've swooped in and send Saya tumbling down off the ledge but she didn't. The Demon queen was toying with her and it infuriated Saya to no end. 

'If only I had some more ground.' Saya though wishfully. This suddenly gave Saya an idea. Looking around for a while, she found what she was looking for. There, a whole floor below her stood a balcony. Exactly what Saya needed. 

A smirk played on Saya lips at this. Turning to towards Alice, Saya let out a dejected sigh. This seemed to do its trick; Alice hovered closer, about three arm's distance away and cooed, "Aw, giving up so soon?"   
Just as Saya had planned. 

"Not Quite, Kari." The Sai'ore spoke with surprisingly playful tone. Before Alice could react, Saya lunged towards her. The Demoness was so surprised because of the unexpected move that she could do nothing when Saya was suddenly holding on to her and they both started to fall. Realizing the situation at hand, Alice panicked and flapped her wings vigorously to keep herself airborne. But since Saya was clinging to her like a life-line, it was much harder.   
"Let me go!" Alice cried. Saya smirked, unnaturally liking the terrified tone the Demon Queen had spoken with. 

"As you wish." Muttered Saya before bringing her knees up to her chest and double kicking Alice hard. The Demon was sent spiraling away and Saya herself was sent the other side. Quickly she angled herself and nosedived. 

Catching a wooden bean jutting from the castle wall in mid air, Saya swing forward and skillfully held on to a small ledge on the wall. After that ,she hopped side-wise and into the balcony she was intending to go in the first place.

She let out a breath and flexed her shoulders. One step of the plan was over. Now the next step. Saya looked over back at Alice and found that she had recovered from Saya's attack and didn't looked pleased at all.

What was the next step?   
Defeat the pissed demon queen. 

\---X---

Hanabi was trying all that she could to free herself from the clutches of the stone titan but as expected, no use. In her desperation, she threw her kunai towards the Titan's face. To her shock, the titan actually raised its arm to deflect the attack. Something which it didn't did when she hit any other part of its body. 

'So its face is vulnerable.' Hanabi concluded. But that meant nothing as long as she was in its clutches. 

Then they both heard a war cry and paused. Hanabi was shocked to see that it was Tigreal and he was charging towards the Titan with his sword raised. 

"No stay back!" Hanabi cried in worry, but her plea fell to deaf ears. The Stone titan showed no interest in the man as it believed Tigreal could pose no real threat to it. Oh how wrong it was.   
With a loud roar, Tigreal slashed the Titan's leg. The Sword of Dawn glowed in bright golden color. And given its magical nature, it managed to harm the behemoth. 

The Titan bellowed in pain and let go of Hanabi in favor of nursing its leg with its hand. The Ninja girl fell down with a loud, "Uff!" standing up groggily, Hanabi held her stomach as to hurt badly. She feared that the wounds inflicted on her by the Hobgoblin the day before yesterday was not completely healed. Hanabi really hope that the wound was not reopened. 

Turning her gaze back towards Tigreal, she cringed. Tigreal's weapon may be able to harm the creature but that didn't mean too much. The Stone titan was too big for the Captain and it swatted him away like a fly. The Man soared through the air and skidded to stop right beside Hanabi. The Titan let out a roar and stomped towards them yet again. 

Wounded but still kicking, Tigreal stood up and groaned in pain, "It's useless; he will see me before I even land a hit." 

This made Hanabi pause. "He can see......but what if he cannot see?" she mumbled. Tigreal looked at her in confusion, "Huh?" 

Hanabi turned towards him and asked abruptly, "Can you please distract him?"   
Tigreal was surprised at the sudden request, but after seeing the seriousness in Hanabi's eyes, he nodded. Turning back towards the Stone Titan, he waved frantically and yelled, "Hey over here!" the Titan growled lowly and chased after the man, "Whatever you are doing, do it quickly!" he yelled over his shoulder. 

All the while, Hanabi had taken out her Kunai and started preparing her next technique. Attaching paper seal filled with gun-powder to the kunai. Hanabi said the proper incantations to ready her attack. Turning towards Tigreal, she yelled, " Tigreal-san, Get back!" 

Tigreal did as told, even if he had no idea why. Hanabi ran in front of him and faced the Titan. With a very precise aim, She threw the Kunai towards the Stone Titan's face, or more specifically, its single large eye with all the strength she had left. When the small knife pierced its eye, the Stone titan yowled in pain. But Hanabi was not done, she made a some hand seals and the paper seal on the Kunai detonated, destroying its eye completely and causing it to bellow in pain. 

"Now!" Hanabi yelled. Tigreal nodded and took the opportunity. Charging head on, Tigreal slashed the magical sword at it. The titan let out another pained roar and tried to catch the offender. But since it was blind now, there wasn't much that the Titan could do.   
Tigreal ruthlessly hacked at its arms and legs. He gritted his teeth and attacked relentlessly. Taking a few steps back, The Captain held the sword tight and closed his eyes. Concentrating hard, Tigreal tapped into the power of the legendary Sword of Dawn. The sword glowed even brighter than before as strange power started building up in the sword. With a loud yell, Tigreal slashed the sword horizontally. A golden wave of energy was released from the slash. The attack wave traveled ahead and hit the Titan straight in the chest. Letting out a groan, the Titan fell down heavily on the ground. 

Tigreal panted heavily as sweat glistened down his brow. The attack had taken a lot out of him but he did it. He defeated the Stone Titan!   
Hanabi punched her fist into the air and cheered, "You did it! Banzai!"   
Though tired, Tigreal let out a satisfied laugh. Turning towards her he declared, "Haha, Sound the horn of Victory!"...........................and he was swatted away by a stone arm. 

Tigreal was sent tumbling away and the sword was send skidding towards Hanabi's feet. The Stone Titan was still alive and it was limping towards Tigreal's downed form.   
Knowing that she had to do something, Hanabi did the only sensible thing she could think of. She picked up the Sword of Dawn from the ground and dashed toward them. She stood before Tigreal and looked at the blind titan with a brave face. The Titan tried to crush her with its arm but Hanabi rolled away just in time. Acting fast, Hanabi ran up to the Titan's face and stabbed the sword straight through its head. 

The Stone Titan seized moving as soon as the sword pierced its head. Slowly its entire body collapsed and broke into a thousand small pieces. 

Feeling her strength fail her, Hanabi dropped the King's sword and fell to her knees. To everyone's surprise a strange purple ball of energy manifested over the remains of the Titan. The energy ball had a tranquil and peaceful aura, a far cry from what the StoneTitan had. The ball glowed softly before being absorbed by Hanabi. A strange yet soothing feeling coursed through Hanabi's being. There she heard it, a faint voice, it called her and spoke but a simple word, "Thank you."   
A small smile came on Hanabi's masked lips, feeling happy that she was able to bring peace to the once tormented and pained creature. The kunoichi slowly fell back as her strength faded. She could feel her consciousness slipping by. Darkness consumed her, but still she couldn't help but worry about a certain Green haired Sai'ore.   
"Please be safe......... Saya-san." Muttered Hanabi before fainting. 

\---X---

Saya was having a rather heated battle with her opponent. Alice threw many energy orbs at Saya but she avoided it easily. Saya tried to slash her sword at Alice but the Demon teleported away from her attack.   
Frankly it was getting annoying. 

"This is ridiculous." Saya muttered. 

"Indeed." Acknowledged Alice, slashing her clawed hand at Saya. The Sai'ore held the Demon queen's wrist to stop the attack. But then Alice used her other hand to slash Saya across her face, leaving five deep cuts on her cheek. 

"Aw, I ruined your pretty face." Giggled Alice and slashed again, but Saya held the other wrist as well. With stern eyes, Saya looked at Alice who gave a smug smile. However, that smile faded when she saw how Saya's cuts rapidly healed in a matter of seconds. It was then Alice realized how tall the other woman was. Reaching up to a height of 6.8 feet, Alice realized how she was a whole feet shorter than the other woman. 

With one fluid motion, Saya turned Alice around. The Demon felt Saya's slender yet muscular arm hold her firmly. Cold steel of Saya's sword pressed threateningly by her throat. Alice felt a shiver pass down her as Saya's hot breath fell on Alice's ears. 

"You've been a major pain in the arse, meha Kari. Now I really have no dough of your instability."   
Alice wiggled in her grasp and spoke coyly, "Why so cold words when our position is so intimate?" 

Saya immediately regret holding Alice like that. Her constant flirting was really bugging the Sai'oren Ex-Empress. Still she didn't let the go, "Give it up already. There is no used to fighting anymore." Saya hissed in Alice's ear with a commanding tone. Which had the exactly opposite of what Saya intended. 

Never had Alice felt such sensation before. Alice was used to being in control for so long yet here comes this magnificent creature, with the bearings and furiosity like never before. The sheer dominating aura Saya had was a blaring contrast to the unquestioned submission Alice was accustomed to for centuries. Oh she wanted her. She must have her!   
"I cannot give up, Darling. Not when I don't have what I want."   
Saya narrowed her eyes at the Demoness, "And what exactly do you want?"   
Alice suddenly broke free of Saya's hold and turned toward her with eyes filled with hunger, "You." She replied hungrily.   
Her answer left Saya astounded beyond belief. It was all the opening Alice needed, she immediately sank her fangs on Saya's exposed neck. Blood drew quickly and Alice sucked greedily. 

She bite more than she could chew. 

Alice's eyes became as large as dinner plates when she tasted Saya's blood. It was sweet. Sweeter than anything she had ever tasted. The taste even better than that of an Elven Infant. But that was not all, Alice could feel it. The Blood, it carried something other than just its heavenly sweet taste. Alice had no idea what it was, but she could taste this strange energy along with Saya's blood. It was foreign, the likes she had never came across before. It was powerful and Alice just couldn't get enough of it. It was addictive, it was exhilarating. Alice let out a moan after moan as she kept on sucking for she just couldn't get enough of Saya's blood.   
All the time, Saya stood frozen as Alice bit and sucked her blood. A very hard blush welled up her face as she tried to pry the Demon off her. In Sai'oren culture, biting was considered a very erotic and sacred gesture. It was essentially an individual marking their partner, so Saya embarrassment was only natural. And the fact that Alice was letting out moans like she was having orgasms was like adding petrol on an already raging fire. 

It was then something came into Saya's mind. Her blood, it would contain small traces of Maya energy even after leaving the body and Alice was sucking blood right off her body. This was enough to alarm Saya. She had to pry Alice off or the consequences could be disastrous. Maya energy was never meant to be used amongst the beings of flesh thus there was no saying what it could do to Alice if she was exposed for too long. 

So with surprising concern for her enemy, Saya held Alice by her shoulder and yanked her away.   
Alice felt her knees grow weak. Her eyes were half-lidded and unfocused. The taste was too much to handle. It overloaded her senses. Alice found herself slowly falling on the ground, but a hand wrapped around her back, preventing her from falling down on the hard balcony floor.   
Focusing her eyes, she was surprised to find out that it was none other than Saya. Her enemy. Her face was red as the blood Alice loves so much and her green eyes were furrowed in a peculiar emotion. An emotion Alice would not receive very often. 

'Is that.......concern?' 

Seeing Alice had come to her senses, Saya let out a mental sigh in relief. She hardened her expression once again when Alice slowly tired to stand straight, abet by still holding on to Saya.   
As for Alice, her heart was running a thousand miles per hour right now. She refused to look at Saya's eyes, fearing that she would see that look again and make Alice feel weak all over again. Masking her inner turmoil with humor, she laughed nervously, "That was......wow." Still not looking Saya in the face. 

The Sai'oren slowly let go of the woman. Making Alice surprisingly yearn for the contact once again. Saya turned the other way and spoke sternly, "Leave." 

The coldness in her voice left an unknown heaviness in Alice's being. Yet she ignored it and flashed a smile. With a mock bow, Alice said mirthfully, "Till we meet again, Darling."   
With that Alice turned into a swarm of Bats and flew away. Saya observed the cloud of Bats fly away from the corner of her eye. Only one thing was on her mind right now, "I'm gonna regret this aren't I?"........................ 


	9. A new purpose

The bright rays of the sun and the chirping of the birds was what chased away whatever drowsiness that was left. Hanabi slowly stirred away, rubbing her eyes. Her body left soar and a faint pain was still there on her stomach area.

"I see that you're awake." Spoke a voice; causing Hanabi to open her eyes wide for she knew who the voice belonged to. The Ninja girl immediately sat up, ignoring the pain her body felt and looked up at her friend. "Saya-san!"

Saya was already beside her with a frown. With a motherly tone she chided, "Easy now, Neha. Don't stress yourself too much." The Sai'ore suddenly felt Hanabi's arms wrap around her lower half, causing Saya to pauses.

"You're okay." Hanabi mumbled while pressing her face against Saya. This caused Saya to blush slightly but she felt a warm sensation grow deep down in her. Feeling glad for the concern Hanabi showed for her, Saya smiled and patted the human girl's head comfortingly. They remained like this for a good while before Hanabi slowly let go of Saya.

"How are you feeling?" Saya asked shyly to removed the awkward silence that followed after the hugging session.

Hanabi groaned lightly and answered, "My body aches." The older woman nodded and went over to a table beside the bed where Hanbi had been sleeping. As for the human girl, she just sat on the bed and asked, "Where am I?"

"In the Castle's guest room. King Roderick was generous enough to let us used this room to house you till you recover." Answer Saya as she mixed some medicine with a glass of water. Hanabi processed what Saya had told her and looked around her surroundings. The room was huge, with its own unique medieval style. It was luxurious and grand. Better than anything she had ever seen. It was then Hanabi realized that the bed she had been sleeping on was itself grand as well. Able to house up to five individuals without a problem, it was easily big and luxurious. Not to mention how incredibly soft the bed was, causing her to lie back down and let out a content sigh.

Saya cleared her throat loudly, causing Hanabi to seize whatever she was doing and sit up. Giving Hanabi the glass she had been holding, Saya spoke, "Drink."

Hanabi looked at the green liquid inside the glass and immediately made a face. Seeing her turn away with a pout, Saya frowned and spoke once again, "Hana." The Kunoichi of iga had to finally let go of her stubbornness. Letting out a sigh, she took the glass form Saya and glared at it. Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, Hanabi gulped down the entire glass in once go and grimaced at its disgusting taste.

"Kuso." Hanabi cursed while Saya patted the young girl's back with an apologetic smile, "Adrine' mafe,Neha. Many apologies but it's for your own good."

The Human girl nodded at this with a sigh. Suddenly she asked, "What happened to me?"

"After the fight with the stone creature, you had passed out for two days straight. I'm glad that you are well now." Answered Saya truthfully.

"What happened to Alice?"

With a surprisingly straight face Saya said what she had told to everybody else, "She got away."

The two stood silent after that. Hanabi looked upon Saya and noticed how different she looked. With a nice bath, her skin was pale, just like snow that fell on winters, was practically glowing. Her greasy hair was clean and dry, cascading down her head till her lower back like waves of green, looked so silky and soft. As for her wardrobe, Saya wore a plain white linen shirt. Clearly made for someone of Saya's tall height but not of Saya's slender structure. Black breeches and a dark brown knee length boots. A rather simple but comfortable outfit.

Feeling Hanabi's eyes boring into her figure intently, Saya blushed lightly and looked away, Bashfully she murmured, "You should get some rest, Neha."

Hanabi whined at this, totally oblivious of the effects her gaze had made on Saya, "Aw, but I just got up!"

The Sai'oren Ex-empress couldn't help but laugh at the human girl's occasional childish antics. "Hush now, Hana. Your body still hasn't recovered properly. So please do as I say and don't over exert yourself. Hm?"

Not being able to say no to Saya's sweet and mother-like tone, Hanabi huffed and got back into her covers, mumbling, "Alright." With an annoyed voice.

Saya smiled and placed her hand on Hanabi's cheek tenderly. This surprised the human girl and she looked upon Saya with confusion. The Sai'oren woman gave her a smile. It was a soft smile, yet the radiance of the smile was almost blinding. Filled with so much emotion and care, that Hanabi was nearly overwhelmed. It was worlds apart for the stern and cold face Saya wears while in a battle field but still felt as real as ever. Hanabi felt her breath hitch as a sudden warmth flowed through her body.

"Rest now, Little Hana. I'll be back soon."

As if she lost her ability of speech, no words left through Hanabi's mouth and all she could do was nod wordlessly. With one last smile, Saya tucked a strand of Hanabi's hair behind her ear and walked away.

With Saya out of the room Hanabi let out the breath that she had unknowingly been holding on. Hanabi held her chest with every deep breath she took, "That Hell just happened?" she could actually feel her heart beating fast as the warmth she felt before returned. Hanabi touched her cheek, where Saya had touched so tenderly. A smile slowly spread on Hanabi lips. She couldn't wait to see her friend again.

The Kunoichi of Iga turned to her side, deciding it get some more rest as Saya had requested. It was then she noticed something peculiar. There on her hand was some sort of mark that Hanabi was sure that it wasn't present before she passed out. She also noticed that it looked awfully familiar to the orb that had manifested after the Stone Titan was killed by her. **(Imagine the small purple buff icon you get after killing a red jungle monster** ) Hanabi frowned and wondered, just what the mark meant.

\---X---

The Forces of the Abyss may have been defeated. But it wasn't without a price. About a quarter of the population of the City was lost and about three fifth of the surviving Population was injured.

With damage such severe, King Roderick was in need of every help and able hands he could get. He sent a word out to many of the neighboring kingdoms for help and their assistance was on the way. The City was slowly rebuilding itself from the ashes of the battle.

Saya couldn't just stand by and watch, thus she offered her assistance. Being a warrior and not an engineer, she could not help much in the construction works. She could however tend to the wounded.

Being quite skilled Doctor herself, Saya was given the liberty to heal the wounded by the King himself. The Sai'ore was swift in her work. Organizing a small group of skilled healers and doctors, she operated restlessly in service of the wounded. Her introduction to some of the more advanced methods of the Sai'ore helped in making things far more easier. Another factor she was responsible for was the quality of treatment her patients got. Saya was never the one to discriminate. Be it a noble or a peasant, everyone was give proper and equal care. A very foreign but unexpectedly welcome view for the Humans . It further made her even more popular amongst the people of Mossenia.

Tigreal was in charge to keep order amongst the remaining population. He stood watch over the medical camp where Saya was working tirelessly. It amazed Tigreal to see Saya, a fierce warrior who could wield weapon like a master, could use those same hands to perform almost unbelievably miraculous surgeries and save lives.

"I cannot believe how skilled you are in this art, Lady Saya. It's almost like magic." The Captain of the Imperial Knights praised in awe. Saya chuckled at this. Her eyes and hands still tending her patient, she answered the Knight, "Where I come from, Captain Tigreal. We have a common saying. 'One has no right to take a life, if she cannot save one.'"

The Human warrior nodded his head trying to understand Saya's words. "Hmm, A peculiar, but a valid belief to live by."

Done with her work on her current patient, Saya pulled out a vial of the Medicine extract in her hands and gave it to Tigreal. "Would you please tell Mahajana Roderick, to take this elixir?" She spoke addressing King Roderick with the Sai'oren word for 'King'. The Captain flinched at the sight of the vial. He knows how King Roderick hates those things, even if it was for his own good. But then again Tigreal didn't have the heart to deny the fair Lady who had done so much for his city and its people.

"O-of course, Lady Saya." He spoke and took the glass vial.

He was about to leave the tent but stopped as Saya spoke out in an excessively sweet voice, "Oh and Captain. I will know if you throw the vial away."

Tigreal had no idea why but he actually felt a chill go down his body. Her tone reminding him of a stern grandma telling her naughty grandchildren to finish up their vegetables. Gulping nervously, the Captain nodded vigorously. Satisfied, Saya got back to her work.

\---X---

Hanabi was walking, or rather limping down the stone hallways of the castle. She knew that she was directly disobeying Saya's request but Hanabi just couldn't sleep. Not when she had so many questions in her mind.

What was the mark?

What did it meant?

Why did she had it?

So engrossed she was that Hanabi didn't saw when she ran into someone, and it sent her on the floor. "Uff!"

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, my dear. I didn't see you there!" exclaimed an aged voice. The person helped her up and it was then Hanabi realized that the one she had tackled with was none other than King Roderick himself!

"King Roderick-sama!" Hanabi exclaimed. Getting up on her feet, the ninja girl bowed while apologizing over and over again. Roderick's eyes widened in panic as he tried to shut her down, "Shss, be quite! He will hear you!" the old man whispered fearfully. This caused Hanabi to be confused.

Soon they both heard a voice call from far away, "King Roderick!"

The old King's eyes widened in absolute terror. Turning towards Hanabi, Roderick pleaded, "Hide me!"

Taking pity, Hanabi nodded and pulled the king away, leaving the hallway seemingly empty. A few moments later a winded figure of Tigreal came running down the hallway. Panting heavily, he spoke to himself, "Where did he go? He cannot have gone far." The knight looked around for his king and rubbed his temple, "I must find him, or else Lady Saya will murder me." He mumbled fearfully and held the medicine veil tighter, "King Roderick!" he called once again, running further down the hall.

Once the coast was clear, Hanabi and Roderick emerged from behind a nearby pillar. _'Medicine, why am I not surprised.'_ Thought Hanabi shaking her head at the King's unusual dislike for medicines. The King himself was now holding his knees while trying to catch his breath; "I swear that Elven woman has bewitched my men!" he spoke between breaths.

"He is only looking out for you, King Roderick-sama." Spoke Hanabi daringly. The old man narrowed his eyes and countered, "Aren't you suppose to be on a bed-rest?" the kunoichi had no counter for this because she knew the King was right.

"Anyways, what brings you scurrying out of your bed, my dear?" asked the king in a grandfatherly tone.

Hanabi gulped nervously at this. Taking a deep breath, she showed the King her mark. Roderick's eyes widened as he looked at the mark with his mouth hanging. "It cannot be..." he mumbled.

A bit worried, Hanabi asked, "Do you know what it is?" the King recovered from his shock and rubbed his eyes. Looking at the young girl he said seriously, "Come with me."

The King led the Kunoichi through the castle, while being mindful to avoid a certain Captain Knight at all cost. Soon they reached a library. With over a million books, with shelves reaching up to four storeys high, it what was no dough the biggest library Hanabi had ever seen.

_'Seriously, what's with these_ _Mossenians_ _and their overly large scaled things?'_

"This way..." called the King going further inside the library. Running his hands through many of the books, he finally took out one specific book. It was huge, with ancient leather cover and worn pages. Hanabi read the title of the book. It read, "The beasts of the Jungle."

The King blew the layer of dust that had settled on the book and put it heavily on one of the several reading tables of the library. "Could you please bring that lamp over here, my dear?" asked the King towards Hanabi. She did as told and brought a lit lamp near the book, making it much easier to see in the fairly dark library.

"Let's see here....." the King muttered, folding pages after pages of the book, searching for something. Hanabi looked curiously at the many different types of unique beasts that were illustrated in the book.

"What are they?" she asked curiously.

"Long ago, before the other races spread over the Land of Dawn. The entire world was claimed by nature. Once home to numerous kinds of magnificent creatures. Some of them would be blessed by the nature itself and would be bestowed open with great and wonderful power. These were the Jungle Monsters." The king explained with twinkling glee in his eyes.

"However....." his tone saddened, "As the sentient races starting to bring their rein on the Land, confrontation with the Jungle monster was enviable." He flipped some more pages and spoke, "The races found out that upon killing a Jungle monster, its power would strengthen who ever lands the killing blow." He shows Hanabi a page. It had a mark. It was identical to the mark she had on her hand.

Hanabi looked at the page and read it, "The mark of strength, obtained by slaying a red Jungle monster."

The King turned to Hanabi and stated, "You can feel it can't you? You feel stronger than before." The Kunochi realized this. She did have a feeling that she felt a bit different since she had woken up. Was it because of the Stone Titan she killed? This was surreal, incredible even. A smug smile appeared on Hanabi's face, thinking about how she now had an upper hand upon a certain snot nose ninja with this unusual 'buff'.

Roderick then let out a sigh and spoke solemnly, "But that was long time ago." his words confused Hanabi, "What are you talking about? What happened?"

The king turned another page and explained, "In their greed for power, the sentient Races actively hunted down the Jungle Monsters. Now only a handful remains in the entire land." There was another illustration on the page. One where, humans, elves, and other races were slaughtering all the Jungle monsters they could find.

This shocked Hanabi. All the pride and good thoughts she had about her 'buff' was replaced with guilt. Seeing her distress, the king patted her like a child, "No need to beat yourself over killing the Stone titan. It was living in torment under the influence of the Queen of Apocalypse. In fact, I would say that you did it a favor."

Roderick closed the book and gave it to Hanabi, "Here, have this as my gift. It might keep you company while you're here. " feeling honored, Hanabi took the book respectfully with both of her hands and bowed, "Arigato, King Roderick-sama."

The King chuckled and awkwardly mirrored the gesture, still not used to Hanabi's Japanese customs.

"There you are, My King!" a familiar golden Knight exclaimed.

"By the Heavens, not again!" Roderick groaned in despair.

\---X---

And so two weeks passed. Hanabi had recovered and so did the city. All the while, she had enough time to read the book King Roderick had gifted her. Hanabi learned many things about the Jungle monsters. Their types, their habitats and their history as well.

As for Saya. She was now practically a local celebrity. Words of her deeds like rallying the guards and saving the city spread across kingdoms beyond. Like one of the heroes of the old tales she came out of nowhere and saved the city. But rather then disappearing into the sunset like a typical mysterious hero, she stayed back with the common rabble and helped them stand back on their own. She was hailed as a savior of the city with countless adoring her for her deeds!

Hanabi would be lying if she said she wasn't a bit jealous of all the attention Saya was getting. She herself had fought alongside Saya, probably even killed more than Saya did. Yet still Hanabi just couldn't come to feel bitter about Saya. Even after all the fame she got, Saya would never forget about her. Always coming to check on her daily with upmost care. Always wearing that disarming smile that made Hanabi feel weak on her legs. Hanabi was truly thankful that she made such a good friend.

Finally the day came.

The city had recovered considerably. So much that the King was actually ready to through a feast. All the city was invited that night as food, drinks and well wishes were given to all and everybody.

Standing up on his throne, King Roderick spoke with a booming voice, "My friends!" upon hearing his voice, the entire room stood quite and listened intently, "Two weeks ago, we were attacked by those cowardly Abyss dwellers on that fateful night." The crowd listened with grim face, some of the wounds still fresh and deep. "But now is not the time to grief, for now is the time to celebrate! They tried to crush us but Mossenia endured. Mossenia overcame. Mossenia was victorious!"

The crowd cheered loudly at this. Roderick raised his hand as a gesture for the crowd to calm down, "But this Victory couldn't have been achieved without the efforts of some of these stout souls. For if it were not for them, the outcome could've been different. Citizens of Mossenia, please give a big hand to the saviors of our fair city. Sir Tigreal. "

The thorn room's front doors opened and someone walked down the path. It was Tigreal, wearing newly polished golden armour. The crowd cheered at his arrival.

"Lady Hanabi of Iga village."

One the king's word, another person walked inside.

Wearing her newly washed and ironed battle kimono along with her red arm and hip guards, Hanabi walked down the path with an emotionless face. But under it she was really nervous. Especially being in front of so many people. She was a ninja, warriors of the shadow, of course she was agitated.

"And lastly, Lady Saya Mahira." A third figure walked down the path but upon her arrival, the crowd stood silent. Hanabi frowned and looked back at her and even she was stunned.

Saya wore an excellent quality black leather tunic with golden edges over a black robe like dress. A red half cape dangled over her left shoulder. (Like the one in the character bio) The sword she had pick up form the Hobgoblin was still dangling from her hip. Her long green mane flowed down her shoulder as she walked down the path.

She was a sight to be envied. The entire crowd watched breathlessly as she walked by. Her head held high, her strides purposeful and regal with the bearing of a royalty. Her eyes gleaming and sharp. She was an absolutely stunning sight.

One of the crowd members cheered on her behalf and soon the dam broke. With intensity like none before, the crowd cheered.

Saya stood beside Hanabi and turned towards the crowd that had been cheering on her behalf. Giving them a grateful smile. They cheered once more.

Such dedication Saya had induced within the citizens amazed Hanabi. Feeling the human girls eyes on her, Saya met Hanabi's gaze and asked, "Yes?"

Shaking her head and scolding herself for gawking, Hanabi quickly made an excuse, "Nice dress."

The Sai'ore flashed a toothy smile at this, showing off some of her almost vampire like fangs. "Thank you. This was the closest thing they had to a traditional Sai'oren wardrobe." Saya explained.

King Roderick gestured the crowd to calm down once again before speaking, "Sir Tigreal, please step forward." The Captain did so, "Sir Tigreal, you have once again proven your courage, honor and loyalty. Even against great odds you stood firm and for that I thank you."

Pride swooped inside the Captain's whole being. Kneeling down on one knee, he spoke modestly, "The honor is all mine, My king."

The king nodded at the captain's words. Tigreal stood up once again and took his place amongst his fellow knights.

"Lady Hanabi of Iga, please step forward." The Kunoichi gulped nervously. She could feel her hands shaking and legs weakening at the prospect of being center of the crowd's attention. Her distressed eyes darted here and there in panic. However when her eyes met that of Saya, she stopped. It was as if Saya knew her uneasy, she gave the girl a wordless yet reassuring smile. In the sea of so many unfamiliar, here she was, still trying to look out for Hanabi. It calmed Hanabi's nerves considerable and she gave a grateful nod at Saya's way. Not willing to delay the king any further, the ninja girl came forth was well.

"Though an outsider, you have fought for my city and have shown skill and bravery a very few posses these days. Not only did you slay the Stone Titan but you saved my life as well. Please accept this as token of gratitude." With that the King present Hanabi with an item. It was dagger, an exquisitely made dagger with shining silver blade, with purple accents and Blue gemstone embedded on hilt. A beautiful weapon, "The Blade of Heptaseas. One of the many treasures of our city. May it serve you well." the kunoichi took the blade, putting much effort not to shudder while doing to. Bowing lowly, Hanabi spoke with upmost respect, "I am honored, King Roderick-sama." The king smiled and waved her off. With one last bow, Hanabi took her leave and went away.

"Lady Saya Mahira, please step forward." The crowd watched anxiously as the Sai'oren empress walked towards their king. She gave him a respectful bow and stood firm before him.

"Words cannot describe my gratitude for you, Lady Saya. This was not your fight or your city, yet you fought more than anyone could have expected. Not only did you lead our men to victory but you stood by us and helped us when we were at our weakest. Such kindness is unheard of and no words or token is worthy of the deeds you had selflessly done for my city. Thus I ask of you. Would you consider staying and take the mantle of an Imperial Knight?"

This caused the entire population that were attending to gasp in shock and awe. They were thrilled as the King was practically giving Saya the status of nobility in the city. The crowd looked breathlessly towards Saya, looking at her expectantly.

The Sai'ore stood still for a moment. Slowly she let out a sigh, "You honor me with your generous offer, Mahajana Roderick." She spoke respectfully, "But I must politely decline." Her answer astounded everyone. She explained further, "What I did was not for glory or reward. I simple did what was right." She looked the King in the eye as she spoke this.

King Roderick was impressed with Saya's answer. Furthermore he recognized the look in Saya's eyes. Dignity and pride, one that was respectful but demanded back respect as well. He should've recognized a fellow royalty when he saw one.

He would respect her decision, "I understand. But please, do accept this as a gift." The King presented her with a magnificent golden sword. "The Rose gold meteor, may this help you leave more legends on this Land." Saya took the blade and ran her hand across it. A bit flashy but made and tempered almost flawlessly. "Thank you. Mahajana." She said with a bow, "The pleasure is all mine, Milady." Replied Roderick. He even actually bowed back. The Sai'ore turned on her heels and made her way towards Hanabi. Giving her a smile, Saya stood beside her.

"Now, Let the feast begin!"

The entire room broke into cheers.

\---X---

That night, the entire city celebrated like never before. Drinks, foods, laughs and love flew like river. They enjoyed the party till the first light of the sun.

After a few days later, Hanabi and Saya found themselves walking down the grand road of the city. All the way the citizen would greet them and waved at their direction. Hanabi looked at Saya, she now wore a simple travelling outfit. White shirt with a leather tunic over it. Black breeches and brown boots, finishing with a dark green cloak over her shoulders.

"So what will you do now, Neha?" she asked.

Hanabi averted her eyes and spoke, "I cannot tell you, but I have a mission to complete."

Saya nodded and but still voiced her concern, "Are you sure you will not take any supplies?"

The kunoichi looked at Saya, then back at the Horse that was following the Sai'ore. As a small token of appreciation, the citizens had gifted the old black horse to Saya. She had a well equipped inventory, ranging from cooking utensils, bed rolls, ropes, bags and other essential travelling gear strapped on the horse's back. Thinking that such extra weight would slow her down, Hanabi shook her head, "No. I must travel light. I can manage."

Somehow Saya dough it but she didn't voice it.

Soon they reached the Main gate of the city. The two guards bowed to them respectfully , and opened the gates. The two walked in silence until they reached a crossroads. One leading to Hanabi's destination, other leading somewhere Saya had no idea of.

"So............ this is it then. This is where we part our ways." Spoke Saya softly. The tingle of sorrow was evident. Saya had grown quite fond of the young human girl and Hanabi wouldn't deny that she felt the same as well.

"I guess it is." said Hanabi turning towards Saya. She couldn't look up to the tall woman in fear that she might be overwhelmed by the emotions that was swelling in her heart. Having no idea what to say, Hanabi gulped and asked, "Where will you go now?"

Saya looked up in the open blue sky with a solemn expression, "I don't know. I cannot return from whence I came, for that place simply doesn't exist anymore. Perhaps I will have to find my own way." for a moment Saya's voice sounded vulnerable. The deep pain that was buried beneath Saya's word made Hanabi's heart grow heavy with pain as well.

"Well, I wish you luck, Saya-san............I am truly glad we could be friends." Hanabi said by reaching out her hand for a handshake. But to Hanabi's surprise, Saya held on to both of her hands. Bowing slightly to reach Hanabi's height, Saya placed a peck on both of Hanabi's knuckles. A Sai'oren way of greeting, as well as saying farewell. Looking at shorter woman in the eye, she said softly, "Stay safe, Neha Hana......Till we meet again."

With that, Saya let go of Hanabi's hands. Turning the other way, Saya ushered her horse to follow her. Hanabi stood speechless as Saya's figure walked further away. She looked at her hands, missing the warmth that Saya had left on it. "Till we meet again." Hanabi muttered before, turning the other way and walking away herself.

All the way, she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Like......something was missing. Hanabi looked at her hands as Saya's sweet voice echoed in her mind. Hanabi remembers about the Sai'ore. She remembers how she saved her form the Hob-Goblin. Her stern yet caring nature. Her sweet and disarming smile. Hanabi remembers those days when she was bed reddened and Saya would come to check on her. Constantly showering her with kindness and care even when Hanabi had done so little for her. Saya's words replayed in her Hanabi's mind. How sad and vulnerable she sounded. Hanabi hated it. She then realized one thing. Saya, even though she didn't show it. She was a broken soul with none to call her own.

Hanabi couldn't let that happened. She wouldn't let that happen , not when she was still there.

The Human girl turned tail and bolted towards the direction Saya had gone. All the while calling loudly, "Saya-san!"

Saya's ears twitched when she heard someone calling her. She stopped in her tracks and looked back.

"Saya-san!" it was the familiar red and black clad ninja girl and she was sprinting towards her with great speed.

"Hanabi?" Saya asked in confusion but the said girl spoke nothing and wrapped her arms around the much taller woman's waist. The Sai'ore was shocked beyond words, but shock left her soon and Saya hugged Hanabi back with a smile.

They stood like this for a while before Hanabi let go of her. "Saya-san, you said that you had nowhere to go right?" she asked hurriedly. Saya fumbled to understand what the girl said and nodded.

Gulping nervously, Hanabi asked firmly, "Would please travel with me then?"

Her words left Saya speechless. A long silence followed. Just when Hanabi was starting to fear rejection, Saya gave her a soft smile and a nod, "Lead the way, Neha"

A wide smile appeared on Hanabi's lips, even if it was masked by her tight face mask. With a happy nod, Hanabi exclaimed, "Alright then, follow me!" With that, she walked forward.

"That's where I was going ,Neha."

"Eh? Well of course, I knew that! I was just testing you, Baka."

Saya laughed at Hanabi's flushed face. The Kunoichi was embarrassed and frustrated but beneath it was joy. She was really happy that Saya agreed to come along with her. She was really happy to see Saya smile.

Thus the two journeyed together, oblivious of what fate had in store for them....................


	10. Clash in the Cathedral

Deep within the mountains, South of the Moniyan Empire lies a bottomless Abyss, where darkness reigns over everything. The only light is the crimson lava that flows in the bottomless crevices. There stood a huge castle. One made of dark stones and fire. This was the castle of the Shadow Abyss, centre of the Abyssal forces. Since the beginning of the abyss's reign on the mainland, countless demons became loyal followers of the Abyss. Fervent in their beliefs, the demon chant the will of the Abyss in these deep caverns - Only the strong deserve to rule!

And in the eyes of the Fire demon lord Thamuz, Alice was not strong enough.

"You did it again didn't you?" The fire demon growled, his voice carrying the signature echo all of the demon kind possessed. Seated on one of the many chairs of a dark conference room filled with several demon lords and generals, Thamuz looked at Alice and growled once again, "You wasted our numbers yet again!"

After their crushing defeat by the hands of the humans in Mossenia, their number had been severely damaged. All thanks to Alice's will to get back her cursed wings.

"Did you say something?" spoke Alice, not paying attention to anything her fellow demon was saying. Her thoughts were elsewhere, on a certain green haired woman.

Taking offence of her unconcerned demeanour, Thamuz exploded in anger, "Insolent wench! How dare you ignore me?"

Alice cringed at his outburst and chided, "Such temper, you fire demons need to 'chill' out." She smirked smugly at her terrible joke while Thamuz was even angrier than before, if that was even possible.

"Why you..."

"Now-now comrades, let's not fight amongst ourselves when we still have so much to do." Spoke a new voice with an overly cheery tone.

The entire population of the conference room turned towards the owner of the voice. It was a young elven girl. Flowing dark purple hair, exotic blue skin and mischievous purple eyes.

"Just what I needed, another self-centered little lady." Grumbled Thamuz. The young girl came towards them with giddy and skipping steps. "In case you've forgotten, Dear Mr. Thamuz. This little Lady is the will of the Abyss." She spoke with a bubbly tone. The ancient fire demon growled at this but kept quiet knowing that she was right.

Alice narrowed her eyes at the new occupant of the room. Selena had always rubbed her the wrong way. Hidden under her cheery and bubbly nature was a sadistic monster that made even ones like Thamuz weary. It was really suspicious that abominable half breed was seemingly able to control both the abyssal power and the powers of the moon god. And what was more humiliating was that Selena was crowned the most powerful amongst the abyssal forces.

Oh how the queen of apocalypse wanted to wipe that grin off her and put Selena to her place, but Alice couldn't. Not when the Abyss seemingly favored her.

As if sensing Alice's gaze on her, Selena turned towards Alice. They made an eye contact for a while before Alice looked away. Selena smile and walked over her, "You seemed awfully distracted, Alice!" she chirped and wrapped her arms around the Blood demon queen's shoulder. Alice scoffed and pushed her away, "Don't touch me." The Abyssal demon half-breed smiled mischievously and held Alice's wrist all of a sudden, "What are you doing? Unhand me at once!" Alice yelled in shock and panic. But before anyone could do anything, Selena turned into her demon form and slashed Alice's arm. The demon queen whence in pain as the rest of the occupants were too shock to do anything. Drops of blood dripped from Alice's wound and fell on the table.

It was faint but they all felt it. A foreign power, the likes they had never felt before. It seemed that whoever's blood Alice had sucked carried a strange power, whose echoes could be felt form Alice's blood.

The Queen of Apocalypse whimpered and held her injured arm. Suddenly she felt the temperature of the room drop considerably, causing everyone to whimper. Alice looked up and saw that Selena in her demon form was looking down upon her with fiery eyes. **"Who was it?"** she asked in a deep and dangerous voice. Right now it was not Selena who was talking to Alice, but the avatar of Abyss itself.

Alice gulped nervously and spoke, "A warrior. Looked like an elf but was not from here. In fact, I believe that she was not form the Land of Dawn itself."

"An outlander?" questioned Thamuz.

The blood demon queen shook her head, "No, a Zeno-being."

Hushed murmurs were exchanged between the demon folks at this. Disbelief, amazement and curiosity were thick in the air. Selena, or rather, the Abyssal Avatar put her hand on her chin in deep thought, "Interesting. I want search parties to find this new creature. I want it brought before me alive."

Her word was carried out immediately. Saya had caught the attention of the forces of the Abyss and they were dying to meet her now. Alice could only whence in pain as the wound left by Selena burned painfully.

\---X---

"So where were we going again?" asked Saya to Hanabi, as she was trying to start a fire. The two had been travelling together for two days now and had covered quite a lot of distance. Having a horse helped them as well but they didn't want to over exert the poor animal. It was night by now and the two (not counting the horse) had decided to camp on clearing beside a small stream.

Hanabi sighed and took out a small parchment of paper form the folds of her kimono. "Tigreal-san had given me a lead regarding my mission. He said to go to the town of Koramir and seek out the sister of the local church of Light." The Sai'ore processed the information and asked no further questions.

With the fire up and running. Hanabi and Saya, along with their horse, sat around the small bonfire, munching on some bread Saya had packed with her. The horse was given some carrots for its all day's hard work and it looked quite satisfied.

Taking another bite of her share of bread, Saya turned towards Hanabi and asked, "You never told me what your mission really is, Neha."

Hanabi just kept eating in silence at this. The older woman sighed and spoke again, "If you want me to help you, Hana, you will have to trust me."

The girl fidgeted nervously at this, still not quite sure about telling Saya about her 'secret' mission. Saya placed her hand on the girl's shoulder and said or rather pleaded softly, "Please?"

The plea in her voice melted away all the dough in Hanabi's heart. _'I'm getting soft.'_

"Okay...." Hanabi let out a deep breath and shook her head, "I will tell you from the beginning. I come from a land far in the east. My village Iga trains very skilled warriors called Shinobi or as the common folks tend to call us, a Ninja. We are warriors of the shadows, working silently without anyone knowing about our presence."

Saya digested the information and concluded with a slight distaste, "An order of assassins?" Saya never really liked assassins. Their cowardly ways was a blaring contrast to the head on honorable ways of a warrior like herself and she had been an Empress for so many years, she had more than a few run ins with those cowardly back-stabbers, so Saya had a good reason to dislike them. But then again, Saya remembers that in her past, she too had fell in love with an assassin.

The term assassin must've offended Hanabi, for she was quick to defend, "NO! We are shinobi, warriors of the shadow. We just.....tend to do things without being seen."

Saya gave her a deadpan look, "That's basically a glorified assassin, Neha."

The younger girl glared at older woman who laughed nervously and held up her hands in submission, "Anyways..." Hanabi continued to explain, "Our order had a shinobi named Hanzo Akakage. He was one of the best amongst the Shadow faction of our order. But then he went rouge and murdered his comrades. He even stole the guarded secrets of the clan. The two factions of Shinobi had to come together to stop him but he was too strong. Now he is on the run, and I am to track him down and bring him to justice." Hanabi spoke with fire in her eyes. She was sure that she could do this. Hanabi was very confident in her skills, especially after her daring victory against the Stone Titan. She was sure that she could do this before ' **him'.**

The Sai'oren empress couldn't help but frown at Hanabi's words. Many questions played in her mind, like-

_Why would the village send just one girl after such a powerful and dangerous foe?_

_Why was she all alone?_

And most importantly,

_Can she do it?_

Saya dare not say that in front of Hanabi. Not right now. Not when she had no idea just how strong this Hanzo character is. But right now, she can offer one thing to the human girl, "No matter what you choose, I will have your back."

Her words brought a smile on Hanabi's face, a smile that Saya was growing fonder of the more she saw it. The kunoichi spoke truthfully, "My thanks, Saya-san."

The two finished their light meal and were ready for some rest.

"Are you sure Saya-san?" asked Hanabi uncertainly.

"Of course, Neha. You need to get some rest." Replied Saya. The two had only one bedroll and Saya had generously given it up for Hanabi's use.

"But what about you?"

Saya chuckled at Hanabi's concern for her. It was a nice change for the Sai'ore. Patting Hanabi's head, Saya explained, "My power costs me many things. One of them is the ability to get tired. Rest now, meha neha. You need it far more than I do. And the wilderness is not a place to let your guard down. Sleep, I'll stay watch."

The Kunoichi huffed with annoyance when the Sai'ore patted her like a child, but Saya's reason was sound. Thus Hanabi didn't argue further. Lying down inside the bedroll, Hanabi let out a long yawn. Saya was right; she really did need some sleep.

She looked up at the open night sky above her. The night was clear with not a single cloud in the sky. The heavens were littered with thousands of stars. It was a fascinating sight.

"Say, Saya-san? You said that you came from the stars, is that correct?" Hanabi asked all of a sudden.

Although a bit surprised by her question at first, Saya answered, "Not exactly form a star, but it's true that I am not of this world."

Out of curiosity, Hanabi asked once again, "What is your world like?"

The Sai'ore paused for a while. Slowly she started speaking, "Siraya.........Her name was Siraya, the land of four moons." Hanabi sat up at this and looked at Saya with eyes twinkling with curiosity. A nostalgic smile occurred on Saya's lips as she looked up in the sky and spoke further, " With seas, thundering and violent. With Rivers fast and shallow. And nights brightened by its majestic four moons. I remember Siraya, as it once was..... Filled with green as long as the eyes could see, with life bustling in every corner. When the land was young and the mountain were green................ Then I remember Siraya, filled with frozen peaks and howling wind. With white as far as the eyes could see. When the land was old and the mountains were grey. Siraya was not much, but it is our home."

Saya looked down on the ground, no longer able to look up in the sky without emotions threatening to spill out. She spoke with a small voice, "It was my home."

Hanabi was both awed and shocked by Saya's words. But when she heard the pain in Saya's voice, Hanabi started to panic. _Why was did she sounded so sad? Did something happen?_ These were Hanabi's questions which were not answered. Then it hit Hanabi like a ton of bricks. She remembers Saya's words.

_"I cannot go back to whence I came."_

_"It was my home."_

Now understanding what Saya meant by that, Hanabi couldn't help but feel very guilty. "I'm sorry......I never wanted to bring up bad memories." She apologized.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Neha. You did not know....... Now go it sleep. We have a new day tomorrow." Spoke Saya kindly. The ninja girl wanted to speak further. She wanted to make Saya know that she was truly sorry. Another selfish part of her wanted to ask Saya more questions,

_Where was she from?_

_What was Siraya like?_

And most importantly,

_How did she come here?_

Come to think of it, Saya never really did tell Hanabi how exactly she ended up in the Land of Dawn. So many questions were there that Hanabi desired answers for, but she would have to wait. Not now. Not when Saya was hurt like this. Saying a last 'Good night', Hanabi lay back on the bedroll. Her mind playing a single question, "Just who are you, Saya Mahira?"

\---X---

The morning came swiftly. They packed their belongings and wasted no further time. The two rode for Koramir together but this time, an uncomfortable silence surrounded them.

This carried on for the next few hours till they finally reached the town of Koramir. Situated further west of the Mossenian Empire, this little town was nothing special, just a hub where travelers would come to visit for resupplies and rest.

The small town had what every passing traveler could need. A General trader for supplies, a smithy for weapons and other arms, a well kept inn and a horse stable as well. They were currently in the stables where they were to leave the horse till their stay in the town. Saya was patting the horse lovingly while whispering comforting words in its ears in Sai'oren. What's even more interesting was that the Horse seemed to be getting calmer the more she spoke to it.

Once done, Saya came over to Hanabi, who was looking over their bag of supplies. "What took you so long?"

The older woman smiled nervously, "Nhari was quite agitated at the prospect of being left alone in the stable. I had to calm her down and reassure her."

With an amused voice Hanabi inquired further, "You named it already?"

The horse, or Nhari as Saya had named her, snorted and threw a murderous glare towards Hanabi, shocking and scaring her at the same time. _This is so weird._

Saya laughed and picked their bag form the ground. Effortlessly carrying it over her shoulder, she smiled at Hanabi, "We should get going."

All the tension between them was gone and Hanabi was glad for it. Maybe it was not Saya but herself who was overreacting at these small things. Saya didn't seem to hold anything against her so they were cool, she guessed. Or she really hoped so. Hanabi herself never had many friends; she was always too busy with her training that she was practically helpless when interpreting people's feelings.

Well that didn't matter now. Hanabi followed Saya away from the stable and into the town.

Their next stop was the inn. Hanabi booked a double bedded room for the two of them. Left most of their belongings, expect for their weapons back at their room and proceeded towards their main objective. The Local Church.

As they made their way toward the church through the small town, Saya asked, "Hana, this Church of Light...... Tell me more about it."

Hanabi held her chin, pondering on the question and its right answer, "Honestly, even I don't know much about it. So basically, the main religion of the Mossenian Empire is the Way of the Light. One of the major religions of the Land, alongside the Moon god of the elves and the Shadow Abyss of the demons." Hanabi explained.

All the time Saya couldn't but get this feeling that they were being watched. The Sai'ore darted her sharp eyes here and there as her ears perked up trying to hear something amiss in the air. All she saw were humans going around in their own business but still Saya could sense that someone was watching them.

Suddenly, she heard some strange religious chanting. Saya was confused at first but then a group of white robes humans came walking down the road. The Church nuns. Their faces were concealed with a hood. They were the ones chanting those religious chants while walking down the road. The town's people gave them a wide girth as they continued down the path.

This was not exactly something suspicious, but, Saya did notice that one of the hooded nuns had been looking towards them this all time. Especially towards Hanabi. Saya's grip around her sword tightened when she saw a glint of metal under the nun's robe.

"Saya-san, are you alright?" Hanabi asked worriedly when she saw that her companion was distracted. Saya's concentration was broken and she looked at Hanabi abruptly. When Saya looked back at the group of nuns, she found out that the woman she was looking for had disappeared into the crowd.

Now even more worried at Saya's strange behavior, Hanabi held the older woman's hand and spoke, "Saya." The contact finally brought the Ex-empress out of her trench. Trying to suppress the blush Saya had from the unexpected but not unwelcome touch, she replied, "It's nothing. Apologies for worrying you."

Hanabi frowned at this, knowing that Saya wasn't telling the truth.

What could've spooked her friend?

\---X---

Saya looked at the grand cathedral made up of white marble and stone. Made in Gothic style, it was very big. Which was expected as it is said that the church was actually older than the city itself. The Sai'ore even fancied the thought of scaling the entire structure when she would have chance, but that would have to wait.

Hanabi entered the church with Saya following closely after her. The interior of the church was huge. With polished marble floor, huge pillars with exquisite tapestry and murals decorating the walls. "Amazing." Saya muttered breathlessly as she looked around her with awe and wonder; thinking how much some of her Sai'oren scholars would've loved to study this Mossenian cultural heritage.

As for Hanabi, she currently had simpler thoughts occupying her mind right now. Like, "Where are all the people?" she muttered, looking around the church which was completely devoid of life.

"Hello?" Hanabi called. Her voice echoed throughout the place, a further testament of their seclusion. "Something doesn't feel right." The human girl muttered as she looked around, feeling anxiety build up within herself.

Saya felt her stomach drop when her ears perked up, telling her of the incoming danger. A foreign smell invaded her nose; one that didn't belonged to her and neither Hanabi. She looked up at the human girl with eyes wide in fear. Not for herself, but for her friend. It all happened in slow motion.

Three sharp metal claws, seemingly appeared out of nowhere, was intending to shred Hanabi to pieces. On instinct, Saya made a dash towards her. Although Sai'ore had the least muscle mass amongst the three Sirayan races, they were undoubtedly the quickest. But from this distance, even Sai'oren speed would not be enough to save Hanabi. Saya had no other choice. She pumped Maya into her leg muscles, forcing them to work faster. Faster than naturally possible. With a mighty burst of speed, Saya shot towards Hanabi like an arrow.

She could feel her calf and thigh muscles tearing due to their excess speed, but Saya could care less right now. She had to save her human.

Hanabi had not time to react as a hooded woman appeared literally out of nowhere, armed with metal claw, was about to end her life so quickly. The Kunoichi could only watch helplessly as the claw inched closer to her. The hooded woman's claws were about to reach her, that was until someone shoved Hanabi out of the way and took the blow for her. The ninja girl's eyes, widened when she saw her savior, "Saya-san?"

The Sai'oren woman along with Hanabi dropped to the ground with a 'thud'. Saya groaned as she started feeling pain on her body. Her leg muscles were destroyed by her used of maya, and the assassin's claw had left a deep wound on her back. Nothing that couldn't be healed within moments. However this information must've been forgotten by Hanabi as she was holding Saya while screaming in panic and terror, "Oh my gosh, Saya-san! Are you alright?"

As for the hooded assassin, she seemed shock at first, but her shock turned into anger. Letting out a curse, she dropped a small object on the ground. It exploded and left the entire area engulfed in a thick screen of pink smoke.

Saya coughed violently as her sensitive senses made her even more vulnerable to attacks like this. Still her thoughts were occupied on the well being of her comrade. "Hana!" she called through a fit of violent coughs. The Assassin was after Hanabi and Saya feared the worst.

Hanabi was trying hard to reach Saya, but through the thick smoke, it was easier said than done. Suddenly she felt a something coming towards her and Hanabi raised her chakram on instinct. Her gut was right as Hanabi was barely able to block a series of attacks thrown at her by the hooded assassin. The ninja girl soon found herself backed against a wall. With a powerful strike, the Assassin was able to disarm Hanabi as the Higanbana was sent flying away from her hand. With a sweep kick, the kunoichi was brought down on the ground. The assassin stood above her and was ready to give the final blow. Until they both heard a war cry and saw an angry Sai'oren charging towards them.

The Assassins was not expecting this. And she was totally not expecting Saya to tackle her to the ground. As soon as the hooded woman hit the ground, Saya landed two nasty punches on the assassins which left her with a cut lip and some ugly bruises. In attempt to defend herself, the assassin ran her metal claws through Saya.

Gambeson and leather were an excellent protection form elements and provided some level of protection form arrow head at the best. But a metal blade would easily tear through them like it had in Saya's case. But this served only to anger her even further. With a hiss, Saya tore the metal claw form the Assassin's grasp and ripped if out of her abdomen.

The assassin was shocked by such careless disregard of one's well being, but due to Saya's healing ability, Saya could go all out by all means.

Knowing she had to get away from the immortal Sai'ore, the Assassin pushed Saya off her and tried to make a run for it. "Nai Kari." Saya growled before giving a chase. This woman had dared to hurt her friend and Saya was about a give a swift retribution for that mistake.

The Sai'ore chased after the human girl and held her by her waist. Taking advantage of her taller body, Saya shoved the shorter girl to the ground. Not quite done yet, Saya then stood up with the Assassin still in her grip. Gritted her teeth, Saya prepared to use one of her most favorite move. Using her strength of her legs, Saya held the assassin tighter by her waist. With a mighty heave, Saya lifted the hooded woman right off her feet.

Hanabi watched with her eyes as large as dinner plate and her mouth hanging open as Saya threw the assassin girl over herself in an arch. A perfectly executed suplex!

Even Hanabi felt sorry for her would be killer.

As for the assassin herself, her hood had been undone, revealing her beautiful long red magenta hair. Her eyes were swirling and her body was unmoving. Saya stood panting above the downed and woman. Upon seeing the girl's state, even she admitted, "I over did it I guess."

Suddenly, the church door opened and in came all the nuns what had been walking around the town. Both the party looked at each other with equal sense of comical bafflement. Soon the nuns noticed the downed figure of the assassin and they were immediately besides her in concern. "Sister Natalia!" they yelled in worry.

The color on Saya and Hanabi's face faded as they repeated in horror, "SISTER NATALIA?"

Well, let's just say that they made quite an impression...................


	11. The Akuma Ninja

Hanabi sat nervously on a chair as Saya was working skilfully to dress up Natalia's wounds that Saya had inflicted herself.

They all were currently in the living quarters of the Church, or more specifically, in Natalia's room. The said Assassin sat silently, her torso half-naked and covered with bandages. Although her expression was unreadable, her pride was severely damaged as the same person who had inflicted damage upon her was also treating the said wounds. Irony.

Applying some medicines on the Assassin's bruises and cuts, Saya informed, "The cut and bruises will heal eventually but your back and neck is severely sprained. I suggest not participating in any activities which includes heavy lifting."

"No thanks to you." Natalia mumbled coldly.

This ticked off Hanabi. She glared at Natalia, "And you ran your bloody claws up her gut!"

Her outburst surprised both Saya and Natalia.

"I'm alright, Neha. I can heal remember?"

"That doesn't make it any better! What if something happened to you?" her words left Saya with a warm feeling building inside of Saya.

Natalia however didn't seem amused and gave a deadpan stare, "Are you two quite finished?"

The Sai'ore sighed and spoke, "There has been a misunderstanding here............Hana, give her the letter."

Hanabi huffed and begrudgingly handed Natalia the piece of parchment that Tigreal had given to her. The Church Assassin eyed the letter suspiciously and unfolded the parchment. Her eyes ran across the letter with lightening speed.

Once done, She looked over Saya and Hanabi, "So you're the ones said to be the Saviours of Mossenian City?" her voice was filled with heavy skepticism.

Before Hanabi could explode in a fit of rage, Saya intervened quickly, "We are looking for a man named Hanzo the Akuma Ninja. Sir Tigreal said that you could help us."

Natalia held her aching neck and shifted into a more comfortable position before speaking, "If Captain Tigreal says you are trust worthy then so be it."

The Magenta haired stoic beauty slowly stood up and walked over to the window, looking out into the hill nearby. Natalia spoke grimly, "Five days ago, in the ancient eastern garden up that hill, a few ninjas were seen trespassing. We sent a few search parties to investigate........................ None returned."

She balled her fist with barely contained anger and spoke further, "Arranging a group of finest fellow Church Assassins, I went to take care of the matter personally. But he was there."

Now Hanabi was listening to Natalia with rapt attention as the assassin continued her story, "Wielding a large great sword with maws filled with jagged teeth, he drenched the entire garden in blood."

"Ame no Habakiri." The Kunoichi muttered.

The Assassin closed her eyes, "The way he fought, the way how he devoured all my sisters with glee........ As if he was deriving sick pleasure from it. He is no longer a human. Not anymore."

"And since you are a ninja yourself. I assumed that you were in alliance with the Akuma Ninja. Thus I attacked. My apologies." Natalia concluded but they were no longer listening to her anymore.

Saya couldn't help but get a very bad feeling about this. If this Hanzo as terrible as Natalia describes him to be than she feared for Hanabi's safety.

As for Hanabi, she was actually shuddering in fear. She knew that Hanzo was strong but not this strong. Trying in vain to control her shuddering. Hanabi couldn't help but feel seeds of dough grow in her heart.

Could she actually do this?

Was she strong enough?

Hanabi paused at such thoughts. No she cannot be thinking like this. Not now. Not when she was so close.

With a determined voice, she declared, "I'll go after him."

Saya looked at her in shock and horror, but Natalia was indifferent.

"Hana, are you sure about this?" Saya asked, or rather pleaded.

Ignoring her plea, Hanabi nodded, "I've reached so far. I cannot back off now. I have a mission and Hanzo is mine to defeat."

A look of concern ran across Saya while Natalia chuckled dryly, "He was right, 'The Ignorant are fearless'."

Hanabi narrowed her eyes at the Assassin. Natalia turned towards her and spoke, "Amongst the most skilled of us, only I was the one who survived the encounter and I barely made it out alive. He delves in unholy arts not known to mankind. He is a demon. No human can kill him." the kunoichi stood up abruptly and stormed out of the room. Saya frowned and went after her.

Natalia looked away and offered a small prayer, "May the light watch over you."

\---X---

No words were exchanged between the two as they ate their dinner back at the inn in silence. The night had fallen and Hanabi had prepared her gear and was ready to set out.

"Where are you going?" asked a stern voice.

Hanabi didn't look at her and answered passively, "I am going after Hanzo."

"I thought we agreed that we will go after Hanzo tomorrow."

"Plans change Saya-san. I'll be back soon."

She was about to reach for the door knob but Saya held her back by her wrist.

"Please release me, Saya-san." Hanabi spoke coldly.

The edge in her voice hurt Saya, but still the Sai'ore stood firm. "Hana, look at me." The sternness in her voice caused the kunoichi to flinch. Slowly the girl turned towards Saya. The Sai'ore suddenly wrapped the shorter girl in an embrace. Surprising Hanabi to her core.

"Why are you doing this? This is not like you, Neha."

The soft plea in Saya's voice shocked her. And the coldness in her own answer shocked herself even more, "Then you don't know me, Saya-san."

Hanabi could feel the hurt look in Saya's face even though she couldn't see it. Hanabi didn't mean it. She really wanted to say that she didn't mean it but her voice failed her. Waved of guilt coursed down Hanabi, she wanted to take her words back.

"I know....." Saya spoke lowly and let go of Hanabi. The Kunoichi looked away in guilt and shame as Saya unwrapped her hand from around her, "But I would like to know you, Hanabi no Iga." The Way how softly Saya called Hanabi her full name made a huge impact on her. The human girl was gently moved to meet Saya in the eye and was hit by a wave of almost overwhelming emotions by just looking inside Saya's glossy eyes.

Saya cupped Hanabi's face tenderly and said softly, "I worry for you, Meha Hana. I cannot lose you too."

The dam broke and emotions flew out like river. Tears welled up in Hanabi's blue eyes as she hugged Saya tightly, "I'm so sorry Saya-san. I was just so scared..." Hanabi sobbed desperately at the crook of Saya's neck. The older woman didn't delay to wrap her arms around her protectively and stroke Hanabi's back.

Hanabi was scared. She was really scared of Hanzo's power. But she didn't want to feel scared. Now wrapped with Saya's slender yet strong arms, Hanabi felt so safe. Like nothing could ever harm her.

"Hush now, Neha. It's okay. No need to apologize to me." Comforted Saya in a motherly voice. Saya let Hanabi let it all out. All the pent up emotions she had been hiding inside her. Hanabi had no idea how much she needed this. How much she needed to let it all out. Now, she felt that a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulder. All thanks to Saya. Her first and perhaps, only friend.

"Thank-you, Saya-chan." Hanabi said with teary eyes. Saya smiled at the new suffix Hanabi used to refer her as. She had no idea what it meant but she like it more than 'Saya-san'. Wiping away Hanabi's tears with her hand, Saya spoke, "You are always welcome, Meha Neha. Let's go to sleep now. You are tired.........and tomorrow, we go after the Akuma ninja, together."

Hanabi sniffed and nodded, "Right."

\---X---

The full moon was shining brightly in the sky. it was midnight and all the residents of Koramir were deep in slumber. In a room of the town's local inn, Saya and Hanabi were asleep in their respective beds.

Suddenly, Hanabi opened her eyes. Without making a single sound, the ninja girl got out of her bed and changed into her combat gear. Lastly she tied her long raven hair into a pony tail and put on her face mask.

With one last look over Saya's sleeping form. Hanabi muttered a small apology, she opened the window. Hanabi jumped out of the room through it and landed on the roof of another building. Giving a last apologetic look towards the window, Hanabi ninja dashed away.

Back in the room, Saya opened her green eyes, which seemed to glow in the dark. She sat up and shook her head, _"Children these days."_ She muttered in Sai'oren and proceeded to change into her combat gear as well.

\---X---

Hanabi jumped from tree to tree towards the supposed garden in the dead of the night. She didn't like to do this to Saya but she had her reasons.

She was scared but she didn't want to feel scared. When Saya had wrapped her in a warm embrace. Hanabi had felt so secure and safe. She both loved it and hated it.

She hated the fact that she needed to rely on someone else to feel safe. It made her feel weak and Hanabi didn't want to feel weak.

She was not weak!

And she was determined to prove that she is not a weakling who needed to be protected and saved over and over again.

The Hobgoblin, the Queen of Apocalypse, the Church assassin, Saya was always there to save her and Hanabi didn't like it. She wanted to show that she could take care of herself. That she was strong as well. That she was equal to 'Him'.

Thus Hanabi needed to do this. She had to do this.

The Kunoichi jumped off a tree and landed just before a long stair case which would lead her to the top of the hill and into the garden.

Steeling herself, Hanabi marched forward.

The garden was old and abandoned. It was typical Japanese styled garden, built long ago by the people of the East when they had migrated further deep into the west. Now it was abandoned and had an almost haunted feeling to it. Especially in the dark night.

Hanabi readied her chakram as she walked forward. Her senses sharp as her guard was up all the time. Soon she reached an old shrine at the middle of the garden. Years of being abandoned, untended and being exposed to the elements had made the shire look like it would fall apart any moment.

She stepped on something and it made a sickening 'crack' sound. Hanabi cringed and looked down at what exactly she had stepped on. Hanabi's eyes widened in horror when she discovered what exactly she had stepped on. It was a human skeleton. Hanabi found more skeletons littering the garden ground. It was a nightmarish sight.

"What do we have here? More flesh to feast on!" a new voice echoed throughout the area.

The Kunoichi looked around frantically to find the owner of the voice, only to see nothing. Suddenly a figure leaped off the roof of the shrine and landed several feet before Hanabi.

The figure was clad in demonic armor, his face obscured with teeth like mask. His hand holding a sinister looking great sword and eyes glowing an unnatural hud of pale green.

"Hanzo-senpai." Spoke Hanabi with edge in her voice.

The man seemed surprised at this, "Well if it isn't little Hanabi-chan! You've grown quit a lot form the last time I saw you." He smirked.

"I come here to take you back to Iga, Hanzo-senpai. Justice will be served!" Hanabi said firmly.

Hanzo looked at her with absolute bafflement. Then he started to laugh like a lunatic, "Ha! You will take me back? You couldn't even defeat that Haya-gaki in a spar. And you hope to take on me?"

His words must've hit a nerve because Hanabi hurled some explosive kunais at him while screaming bloody murder. The more experienced ninja smirked under his mask, "Still hot headed as ever." He causally deflected her attacks.

The ninja girl growled and ran around him while throwing more kunais at him. Hanzo dashed out of the way as Hanabi's kunai left a series of explosions where ever it landed behind him.

Intending to finish this as soon as possible, Hanabi prepared to use her most powerful technique. Removing the seal form her chakram. Hanabi looked Hanzo right in the eye and hurled the weapon towards him, "HIGANBANA!"

When the chakram hit the ground, thorny tendrils sprout from the ground and immobilized the other ninja. Soon the tendrils exploded in a brilliant display of fireworks.

Higanbana flew back towards Hanabi's hand as she looked towards where Hanzo had been standing. A thick smoke clouded the area and she could so no signs of movement form it.

"I did it." she let out a breath as a sense of accomplishment swelling within her. However-

"Not quite, Hanabi-chan. Not quite." Boomed Hanzo's voice form within the smoke.

With a swing of his sword, the smoke around him dispersed.

Hanabi's eyes widened him disbelief for Hanzo seemed practically unharmed. "Impossible!"

The Other ninja flexed his shoulder, "I have to say, I am impressed that you actually managed to crack my armor. Not many can do that." Even his mask was grinning cruelly at her. Hanzo pointed his sword at her, "Your flesh shall make me even stronger!"

With that, Hanzo charged towards her with lightening speed.

Hanabi threw her chakram towards him but the shinobi easily deflected the attack with a flick of his sword. Now he was in such a close distance, Hanabi had no other choice but to go melee, one of her worst field.

She was more specialized in ranged combat. Being able to ditch out massive damage from a distance, but in such close quarters, she was not so good. It was evident because Hanzo was absolutely destroying her and was not even trying.

"Is that all you got?" teased Hanzo cruelly as Hanabi, who was using her Blade of Heptaseas, panted heavily. She was not used to full contact battle like 'Him' and Hanzo was far more skilled than 'Him'. But still she refused to give up.

"Not quite." She went on offensive from now on, forcing Hanzo to defend her sloppy barraged of attacks.

"Ha! You have the heart but not the skills."

Suddenly, Hanabi felt weak. As if her powers were slowly being sucked right out of her body. The Kunoichi looked down and was stunned to find out that there was a strange kunai embedded on the ground. It was projecting out some dark runes on the area she was standing on and was leeching away her strength.

Her eyes widened when she recognized the forbidden technique, "Ninjutsu Soul Reap?"

Hanabi had not time to react when Hanzo hit her with a nasty punch in the gut. She doubled over in pain, trying not to empty her stomach then and there.

But Hanzo was not done. He hit her with a deadly combo of an axe kick, followed by a devastating mule kick and ended the combo with a round house. It sent Hanabi flying away and she dropped on the ground with a heavy thud.

Hanabi could feel blood trickling out of her mouth and dampening the fabric of her mask. Her whole body hurt like hell as she lay prone on her back. Down and defeated.

"I was mistaken it seems. You're still that weak girl from Iga." Hanzo's distant voice echoed in her hazy mind. He was right, she was still too weak. Yet still she came, even when knowing that it was a bad idea. She should've listened to Saya. Hanabi chuckled bitterly to herself, "I'm sorry Saya-chan." She mumbles to herself.

Hanzo now stood before her. Looking down at her with cruel eyes, "But worry not, little flower. Your flesh will strengthen me. My sword will devour you and you shall be a part of me. That my dear, is my gift to you." He spoke with a crazed glee. Hanabi looked at him with silent fear as large mouth opened on his sword and it was ready to end her life. In no time, she too would be but a pile skeleton amongst the many skeletons one the ground.

Suddenly a sword came soaring through the air and embedded itself between Hanzo and Hanabi. The Akuma ninja jumped away at this on instinct, "What the hell?"

Another figure dropped from a nearby tree and landed beside Hanabi. The Kunoichi would recognize that green snake like eyes anywhere.

Here Saya was again, rescuing Hanabi from danger. From problems that were supposed to be her own.

"Saya-chan....." Hanabi tried to speak through her pain but Saya shushed her. Saya placed a comforting hand on her forehead. A feeling of warmth and security washed away all of Hanabi's fears and despair. The young girl let out a sigh of relief and held Saya closer.

Saya picked up Hanabi bridal style. Without even turning towards Hanzo, she spoke stoically. "I should kill you where you stand. But it is not my right to do so. Leave before you force my hand." She declared.

Her words astounded and amused him to no end. The nerve of the woman. Hanzo laughed maniacally, "Ame no Habakiri, will devour you!"

With that, Hanzo made a few hand seals. A huge tremor shook the area. Soon a black mouth filled with teeth sprouted out of the ground. It intended to devour both Saya and Hanabi in a single go.

Saya did not even turn towards the black mouth, as a huge green ethereal snake sprouted out of her back. The snake of pure Maya energy bit the demon mouth and shoved it to the ground. The force was enough to leave a meter wide crater on the ground. Leaving Hanzo and Hanabi totally flabbergasted.

The technique Saya had just use was a form of Maya extension. It required the user to give a physical form to the Maya energy inside their body to perform attacks. Saya rarely used this technique as it required her to tap her immortal heritage more than she wanted to for it could cost her own sanity.

Anger was a powerful emotion. Often leading to disastrous outcomes and Saya tries not to be overwhelmed by it. She remembers the last time she lost control eons ago and how she left the path of death and destruction.

Still her heart was still of a mortal and right now; she was barely able to control her anger towards the offending piece of Ninja trash that dared to hurt 'her' human.

Hanabi could only look at Saya with her jaws hanging in shock. "How...?" she mumbled but Hanabi got no answer.

As for Hanzo, he was speechless. The power he felt was far stronger than anything he had ever seen. It agitated him, it infuriated him, but most importantly, it awed him. He wanted it. He wanted that power!

Sensing that the Akuma ninja was not done yet, Saya sighed and placed Hanabi gently at the base of a tree. "Stay here." Saya ordered softly as her hand shot up and caught a kunai that was intending to hit Hanabi in between her eyes, causing the girl to flinch. The Sai'ore threw the kunai thrown by Hanzo away and narrowed her eyes at the demon like ninja. "I will be back in a moment." Hissed Saya while Hanabi could only but nod dumbly.

The tall woman unsheathed her sword and walked towards her opponent. "I told you to leave, Human." She hissed at the Ninja. Hanzo merely grinned under his already grinning mask, "Not before I feast on your flesh!"

With that Hanzo attacked. This time not holding back at all. Hanabi was really worried about her friend but to her surprise, Saya was more than a match for Hanzo.

The Ninja swinged his massive sword over his head, taking full advantage of his superior reach. Saya knew this was to make her back off so she did the exact opposite. She dodged the attack and rushed inside Hanzo's defense. The ninja was not expecting this as he was hit by a powerful shoulder bash. And since his sword was too big, he couldn't use it fast enough to defend himself. 

Saya's shoulder bash had effectively broken Hanzo's guard. His neck was left unguarded, she could end this now and then, but as she said, 'It was not her right to do so.' She hit Hanzo right in the face with the pommel of her sword, which caused Hanzo to fall on his back, holding his face in pain.

"Ughhhh!"

She may have promised herself that she would not kill him, but she never said she would not beat him up.

"Ja'had, Stand up." Saya hissed as she took her fighting stance.

Hanzo glared at the Sai'ore and stood up as well. He kept his sword low as he circled the tall woman like a hawk. Saya had her sword over her shoulder with both her hands catching the hilt, ready for an attack whenever she pleases. Her eyes never leaving the Human's as he circled her.

The ninja hurled a kunai at Saya to distract her and then went in for his attack. But with skill and speed not witnessed before, Saya avoided the ninja dagger and parried the attack as well. Hanzo was so baffled that he was not ready for Saya own attack. She skillfully slashed only the exposed flesh on Hanzo's armor, all the while taking care not to wound him fatally. Using the blunt side of the sword Saya pushed the ninja away, while mumbling a single word, "Ja'had."

He may not know what the word 'Ja'had' meant but one thing was clear, he didn't like.

But he did learn another thing; his opponent was a very skilled warrior. One who was more used to head on combat than he was. Hanzo knew this and he knew that brute force was not going to work.

Saya raise her brow as Hanzo performed a series of hand signs, like the ones she had seen Hanabi do countless times. As soon as he was done, the Akuma ninja suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke. Saya looked around for her cowardly opponent but found him nowhere.

Suddenly she felt that her power leeching out of her body. Saya looked down and saw that below her was the same Ninjutsu soul reap that leeched Hanabi's strength.

"You're mine now!' a voice yelled and Saya turned just in time to dodge a claw swipe. Saya looked at her opponent and saw that it was Hanzo in his Supreme Demon ninja form. He disappeared and reappeared behind Saya. Spikes jutted out of his body and he hurled those spikes at Saya. She jumped away from the attack that would've turned her into a pin cushion.

But Hanzo again appeared behind Saya and swiped his claws at the Sai'ore's back, leaving a deep wounds . She fell down on the ground, and Hanzo reverted back into his normal form.

"It's no use now. You may be skilled in combat, but against my versatile attacks, your skills mean nothing. My soul reap will drain you completely of your strength and soon I shall have your power as well!" Hanzo declared boastfully.

"Versatile attacks? More like cheap shots." muttered Saya, slowly standing up. The Akuma ninja's eyes widened in disbelief, "What! How is this possible! My soul reap should've drained you dry of all strength. You should be on the ground, too tired to even move!"

Saya chuckled bitterly at this, "My friend. You should know one thing about me." Hanzo watched in horror as the wounds on Saya's back started healing within moments. She then turned around, her eyes glowing dangerously in the dark, "I cannot get tired."

Hanzo screamed in defiance and charged at her recklessly, as if he lost all of his rational thoughts.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!" he roared while attacking Saya relentlessly.

The Sai'ore scoffed at this and avoided his rage fueled sloppy attacks. Hanzo was losing it. He was never defeated in his life and now comes this Elf who was constantly toying with him. Nothing he did worked. He couldn't out skill her, nor outsmart her. Or any of his techniques worked. Even his Kinjutsu Pinnacle Ninja move was not working. It made him feel so frustrated that he was really losing his shit.

Having enough of his tantrum, Saya parried one of Hanzo's attacks, stunning him long enough to hit him in the stomach with her sword's hilt and the man double over in pain. Thinking this was an excellent moment to try out a move that her old friend loved so much, Saya flipped the sword and held it firmly by its blade. She then used sword's cross guard as an improvised blunt weapon and hit Hanzo across the face in a novice display of half-swording.

This technique was new to even her, only have seen it being done by her old friend many times and not herself till now. Her grip on the blade had not been firm enough as she had indeed cut her hand a bit. It healed quickly but one this was clear. Saya now understood why Lucifer (he is a character form my story) loved half-swording so much, it was damn fun.

Hanzo was laying face first on the ground. He couldn't believe it. He was defeated so easily. Rage boiled inside him. 'No I cannot be defeated!' he yelled in his mind. Getting up groggily, his head still a bit dizzy because of Saya's attack, he turned towards her and let out a war cry.

"Raaaaaaahhhh!" he roared and charged towards her bare hand in his rage. Saya sighed and threw her sword towards the screaming lunatic. When he saw the blade coming towards him, instincts took a hold of him and the Akuma ninja fell on the ground. He crossed his arms over head as a form of defense in primal fear. He expected pain that would end his life, but instead he felt nothing.

Hanzo slowly opened his eyes and was shocked to find out that Saya's sword had buried itself inches away from him. A very close call.

Saya walked over him and retrieved her sword form the ground. Turning back towards him, she growled dangerously, "Leave now."

Hanzo glared at her but smartly backed away. Picking up Ame no Habikiri form the ground, he gave one last glared at the Sai'ore, "I will remember this insult!"

She answered him like any Sai'ore would. With her ears turning back aggressively, Saya bared her fangs at him and hissed in an almost snake-like-manner. Wordlessly Hanzo turned the other way and disappeared into the forest.

All the while, Hanabi could only gawk. Not being able to believe what just happened before her. Saya had defeated Hanzo the Akuma ninja and she just couldn't believe.

Letting out a sight, Saya walked over to Hanabi and picked her up once again, "Let's get you patched okay, Neha?" She suggested.

Hanabi could only managed a nod as an answer..................................


	12. The first lesson

No words were spoken between the two. Saya simply had nothing to say and Hanabi was too shocked to utter a word. It all seemed like a dream, it was just too surreal. Saya had defeated of the best shinobi in Iga like child's play. It was just too unreal.

Hanabi's body ached, her wounds now cried in protest as the adrenaline of the battle started to leave her. Saya frowned at this and held Hanabi more properly, taking care not to hurt her in the process.

"Sleep now, Neha. You had a long night." Her words were soft and soothing. Fatigue started to take a hold of Hanabi. Her eyes grew heavier. Snuggling closed to Saya's warm bosom, Hanabi drifted into a dreamless sleep. She had a long night indeed.

\---X---

The kunoichi fluttered her eyes open as sleep slowly started to release its hold on her. Her body ached but Hanabi noticed that her wounds were all patched up and covered with bandages tied by skilled hands. Slowly she sat up on the bed she was lying and looked around her surroundings. She was back in the room they had rented in the inn. It confused her.

_Was it all just a dream?_

The door was suddenly opened, causing Hanabi to be on her guard immediately.

"Su'ee ,Neha. It's just me." Saya's announced with a calming voice. In her hands was a bowl of stew and a small loaf of bread. She walked over to Hanabi's battered form, "Are you feeling well?"

Hanabi let out a groan as her body ached. Saya frowned, "That bad hmm?" she placed the food on the small table beside Hanabi's bed and sat on the bed herself.

Wordlessly Saya undid Hanabi's bandages and applied a strange balm on her injuries. Hanabi flinched and hissed as the balm stung. Saya whispered soothing words to her as she wrapped herb enriched bandages over her wounds, "I know it hurts, Neha. But do endure it for a while. It's for your sake only." She would whisper.

Once done, Saya brought the stew she had kept on the table and handed it to Hanabi, "You should eat, Neha."

After the beat down she had got from Hanzo and the long painful night, breakfast was not such a bad idea for Hanabi. The Human girl was about to reach out for it but a sudden jolt of pain caused her to stop in her tracks as she hissed in pain. The wounds were deeper than she had hoped it was if even small movement as such could cause such a tremendous amount of pain.

Saya frowned at this, looking at Hanabi's pitiful state. Sighing internally, she grabbed the spoon herself and scooped up the contents of the bowl. Then she proceeded to offer it to Hanabi. The Kunoichi raised her brow as this, "What are you doing?"

"You are in no condition to move. Let me help you." Saya replied in an obvious tone.

An embarrassed blush spread across Hanabi's face, "No need, Saya-chan. I can eat myself." She reassured and tired to reach out for the bowl of stew herself, only for her body to protest painfully. Saya gave her a look of distrust and spoke, "Hanabi of Iga, I am going to feed you this stew and you are going to eat It." her voice was stern and was not about to take no for an answer.

A shiver ran through Hanabi's back and she nodded vigorously. Saya's stern expression did a complete 180 degree turn as it was now replaced with a kind motherly smile. This was one of the many quality Saya had that would freak out the human girl.

"This is embarrassing." Whined Hanabi before eating the spoon full of stew. She felt like a little girl who cannot eat herself and needs her mommy to feed her. All the while, Saya had an amused expression at Hanabi's frustrated and embarrassed face. She was enjoying this more than she should.

After several moments of embarrassment, Hanabi was able to eat all the stew and bread that Saya was feeding her. Although the whole ordeal was embarrassing, a filled stomach was a lot better than an empty one.

Smiling warmly, Saya spoke in a mother like voice, "See? That wasn't so bad now was it? Now rest, you need to recover."

Hanabi grumbled lowly, "Yes, mother." Causing Saya to laugh out loud, remembering how many times she had been called that in her long life.

A few days went by; Saya never left Hanabi's side. It was like having a worried mother and a doctor altogether at once. It was a bit enduring but not at all unpleasant either. Perhaps it was because Hanabi was still not used to how pamper-some Saya could be.

The Church Assassin Natalia had come to visit them once as well. She was genuinely surprised that Hanabi managed to survive, more so when Saya informed that they managed to chase away the Akuma Ninja.

_More like she let him live._

That led her to her current thoughts. Hanabi was still thinking about her fight with Hanzo. How he easily defeated her. It was an expected outcome but the way how he outright dominated her was very de-motivating. Especially when Hanabi was at least expecting to give a decent fight. Her thoughts drifted further,

_How would 'he' have fared?_

Hanabi would not get an answer to that anytime soon. She could however answer how her friend Saya had fared.

It was still fresh in her mind. The way how Saya fought against Hanzo that night. Hanabi could remember Saya's every move. Every step was planned out, every attack was precise. All executed with a grace and poise Hanabi had never seen before.

Jealousy brewed within her.

How could Saya toy with one as strong was Hanzo who had wiped the floor with her. Was she really that strong? Or was it herself that is so weak?

Noticing the distressed and bitter look on Hanabi's face, Saya asked with concern, "What troubles you, Neha?"

Then there was that. The way how Saya acts like nothing had happened that night. As if it was something she would do as casually as walking down the road.

"You know the answer to that." She spat.

The unintended bitterness in her voice made Saya stop whatever that she was doing. With a sigh she turned towards Hanabi, "I never spoke of it because I feared that you were not ready to talk about it."

"Like how I wasn't not ready to face Hanzo?"

"Neha, don't twist my words....."

Hanabi looked down and hugged her knees, "I saw you. I saw the way you fought. You were holding back. You could've killed him so many times but you just toyed with Hanzo all the while."

Saya sighed, "The Akuma ninja was a very good assassin. A back stabber, a trickster. Any skilled warrior could've defeated him in a fair fight. Remember, Assassins do not play fair because they cannot, but a Hron'treharee, a Warrior reveres in an honorable fight."

Still Hanabi looked away, "So......does that mean that I am so weak? That I cannot even win a trickster in a fight?"

The Sai'ore held the bridge of her nose. A depressed teenager is one of the worst patients Saya had to deal with in her long life. And Hanabi was depressed right now. The twilight years of one's life are always a very sensitive stage, no matter the race or species. Their energy and pride will be the highest at this point and so will be their vulnerability. Saya would have to be careful in her approach now, luckily she had many experiences dealing with such things.

Walking over, Saya too sat on the bed Hanabi was currently on. Without looking over her, the older woman spoke, "Maybe it's true. Maybe you have your weaknesses and flaws." Saya's words stung Hanabi. She looked away, as tear drops formed at the brim of her eyes.

"But then again, who doesn't have their flaws." Added Saya causing Hanabi to look over to the Sai'ore, "Maybe you're as weak as you say you are..................So what are you going to do about it?" her words stunned Hanabi to her core.

Saya looked upon Hanabi and spoke with a kind tone, "Are you going to sit here and despair?.......... Or are you going to do something about it?" her voice filled with wisdom gained through uncountable experiences. The Sai'ore's words echoed in Hanabi's mind.

She was right. Hanabi was weak, even if she refused to admit it. It nearly cost her life but it showed her what state she was exactly in. But Saya's words right was well. It was all up to herself now, would she whine and cry, or do something to change that.

Saya saw a new fire ignite inside Hanabi's previously dull eyes and she was proud of the young girl.

Then all of a sudden, Hanabi spoke, "Teach me."

The Sai'ore was confused at this, "What?"

Hanabi turned towards her, "You're the most skilled warrior I have met till now. So I beg of you, please teach me." With that she bowed lowly before Saya. The Sai'ore stood speechless, not expecting such a request form Hanabi. The way of the Hron'treharee was an ancient and sacred way of the Sa'ore, older than Saya herself. She was not exactly thrilled at the prospect of a non-Sai'ore learning this art. But then again, a cruel realization dawned upon Saya. She was probably the only Sai'ore left in existence. Saya sighed and looked upon Hanabi's bowing form. The girl was willing, but was she determined.

Saya chuckled, "The path of Hron'treharee is very different form that you are acquainted to, Neha. Do you really have what it takes to be a warrior?"

Hanabi looked her straight in the eye with determination and answered with smirk, "I'm starting to think that you might not know how to train me, Mahira-san."

The Sai'ore laughed at this. The Human girl sure had a strong spirit. "I assure you Miss.Hanabi no Iga. I had more than a few share of students back in my younger days and time has yet to tarnish my skills." Saya announced proudly.

Hanabi looked at her with deadpan eyes, "Seriously, how old are you?"

"Take your guess, Neha." Saya replied playfully.

"I don't know, thirty?" the Sai'ore giggled at this. Hanabi slowly started to feel nervous, "No? But you don't look a day older than thirty!"

Saya's giggle started to grow more uncontrollably, freaking out Hanabi even more.

"Saya-chan?"

\---X---

As promised, Saya agreed to take Hanabi under her wing. She would teach her the ways of the Warrior, but that had to wait till Hanabi would fully recover.

Thus after a week of rest and medication, Hanabi was good as new and ready to carry on with their journey. After a last visit to the church and bidding Natalia farewell, the two set out on their way.

"Saya-chan, where are we going anyways?" asked Hanabi as she walked beside Saya. The said woman was walking on foot, rather than riding on her horse, Nhari. Turning towards Hanabi, she explained, "To begin with our training, we must find a suitable place to do so. The high hill over there looks like a perfect place." Saya pointed at a large hill which was several miles away from Koramir.

"But isn't that too far from civilization?"

"That's the point, Neha. Less distractions." Saya replied sagely.

Hanabi couldn't help but get a bad feeling about this. The glint in Saya's eyes sent shivers down her back.

It took them an entire day to reach all the way up to the hill.

"We shall camp here for tonight. Tomorrow we start your lessons." Declared Saya when they reached a clearing on top of the hill. Hanabi sat down heavily of the ground, tired of the day's walk. The eldest amongst them started a small bonfire as the Sun was slowly starting to set down. Night would pass and bring about a new day. And with a new day came new challenges.

The kunoichi was extra jumpy and energetic that morning, as her entire being was filled with enthusiasm and excitement at the prospect of learning something new. Saya smiled at this as she stood before Hanabi, "So we shall begin our first lesson."

"Give your best shot Sensei, I am ready for anything!" declared Hanabi pride fully. Then there it was the ninja girl's massive pride. Saya shook her head.

_This will not do._

But she had the perfect test for it.

"Of course, But first........ a little test."

This confused Hanabi, "Test?"

Saya smiled and called her horse toward her, "Nhari, Hene aabus." The horse shot a glare at Hanabi and trotted joyously towards Saya. The Sai'oren patted it lovingly and whispered something into its ear. The horse suddenly jerked up in excitement and shot Hanabi a smug look, causing the human girl to be both offended and disturbed.

"So the test is simple, you and Nhari are to make five laps around the hill. The first one to make it here after completing five laps wins." Explained Saya.

Hanabi's jaws nearly hit the floor, "Are you crazy? How can I out run a horse?" she yelled pointing at Nhari who was giving the kunoichi an even smugger look.

Saya made a fake worried expression, "Is that so? I guess this task is really off your limits. Oh well. Guess I'll have to find a task more suited for you." The Sai'ore knew that bait as such as this was petty, but it seemed to do the trick. Hanabi's face was red with anger as she declared, "Fine! I'll race that stupid horse!" with that Hanabi removed her arm and hip guards so that it would not weigh her down.

Pride could make you do stupid things indeed.

The Sai'ore turned to Nhari and whispered softly, _"Don't be too harsh on her, please."_ The horse snorted but nodded begrudgingly nonetheless. As for Hanabi, she was doing some stretches and cracking her knuckles while cursing about 'stupid horses' and 'stupid races'.

"You might want to remove the mask, Neha. It will disrupt your breathing." Advised Saya, but as expected, Hanabi didn't listened, "Don't worry Saya-sensei. I know what I am doing." She said proudly. Saya couldn't help but chuckle at her childish antics.

Saya made a line on the ground with a stick and spoke aloud, "Are you ready?"

Nhari snorted and stomped her hoofs. Hanabi nodded and muttered a low, "Yes."

"Then..................Begin!" as soon as she said that, Nhari neighed by standing on her hind limbs and galloped forward. Hanabi bolted right after the old mare and Saya shook her head in amusement. "Children these days."

With that, Saya went around and started collecting some wood. They would be staying in that area for a while, so Saya would have to make a temporary shelter.

\---X---

Hanabi was running as fast as she could but no matter how fast she willed herself, a human could never out run a horse. Even she knew that, but still her pride would not allow her to quit. She looked forward and saw the horse was zooming down hills with ease, it infuriated her even more. Not wanting to be outshined by a horse, Hanabi let out a yell and ninja dashed forward. She was not loosing again!

An Hour passed.

Saya had made a frame out of some branches and tied them together firmly with some plant fibers she had found in the woods. The hut she was trying to build was slowly coming together. She made no haste as she knew she had plenty of time. The hill was quite big and it would take quite a time of the two racers to complete even a single round.

The first lap was completed by Nhari, just as expected. With Hanabi following up about five minutes later. For a human, Hanabi was fast and she bolted after the horse without any signs of fatigue.

Another hour passed.

Saya was now covering the top of the now ready frame with a roof made up of leaves she had arranged herself by hand, that would cause rain water to flow down the roof and not through the roof. The two racers passed by once again. As expected, it was the horse that came first with Hanabi following the animal about a good while later. However this time, they were a bit winded. But it was clear that they could go further.

Another hour and the sun was now high up in the sky.

Saya tied twigs and sticks together to make a make-shift wall that would at least protect them from violent wind and was proceeding to put those walls on their supposed home. The racers passed by once again, showing the completion of yet another lap. Again Nhari was in lead but it was clear that the horse was having trouble to keep galloping. Fifteen minutes later, Hanabi pass by and she looked even worst. Her sprint had been reduced into a simple jog. Her body and clothes was drenched in sweat, her mask was damp and it made breathing harder. Upon reaching the camp, Hanabi threw the mask toward the camp, ignoring Saya's audible, "I told you so."

Although tired and at her edge, Hanabi kept going. Saya shook her head at this, "Still stubborn." She looked up at the sky and saw that noon would soon be upon them, "I guess I should start preparing lunch." With that Saya gathered some fire woods.

\---X---

Hanabi was panting heavily. Her body screamed in protest as she forcefully willed herself to move forward. She could no longer run, and was jogging slowly. "No, not like this....... I must run or I'll lose." She muttered to herself and willed herself to run once again, but her body couldn't obey her command anymore.

The kunoichi fell to her knees and despaired. She still had a lap to go and right now, she could probably expect that bloody horse to come any moment form behind her and complete its fifth lap while she was still on her fourth. Hanabi groaned tried to stand up, "Come on, you have to do it. You must do it!" she scolded herself.

Then a small part of her mind replied to her, 'Why?'

Hanabi paused at that thought, 'You knew it from the first that racing a horse on foot was a lost cause. Yet still you tried. It is the battle with Hanzo-senpai all over again. You let your pride get the best of you.'

Surprisingly, that small voice in her mind was perhaps the sanest think she had thought that day. Sighing to herself, Hanabi stood up and slowly limped towards their camp. She knew she had lost but it mattered not now. Hanabi had lost the moment she tried to race a horse and she now admitted it whole heartedly.

It took her a good whole hour to walk back to their camp. Hanabi was very surprised to see the small hut that Saya had made while she and Nhari were racing all over the hill. True she had noticed Saya building something while she completed each lap but this was the first time Hanabi was finally noticing it.

It was small, simple and well made. Hanabi was more than impressed. What impressed her even more was the delicious smell of food coming from the camp. She limped closer and found that Saya had relight the bonfire and there was a pot over the fire, with something in it that smelled very tasty.

"Oh, you've arrived." Saya greeted and passed Hanabi a bowl of food. The Kunoichi looked at the bowl filled with cooked brown rice, meat chunks and vegetables altogether, making a so-so biriyani like dish. Her stomach growled, so Hanabi dug straight in and was invaded by fireworks of juicy and spicy flavors. It was heavenly, better than anything she had tasted since she had left Iga.

Hanabi ate silently as Saya was feeding Nhari a generous amount of carrots. Even the poor animal was too tired to complete all five rounds. Due to its body being covered in fur, the horse had nearly overheated itself. Thus to prevent it from getting a heat stroke, Saya had to wash its sweaty hide several times to cool it down. So the outcome was clear. Since none of the two contestants were able to complete the race, no one won.

The kunoichi had wolfed down her food and asked for another helping. Saya gave her a generous amount of it and Hanabi dug in happily.

"So, Neha. Did you learn anything?" Saya asked as she sat beside Hanabi.

"Sure I did. You're a cruel slave driver and horses are stupid." Grumbled the human girl, still salty at about the whole ordeal. Saya frowned and chided, "Hana..."

Hanabi stopped eating and sighed. Sometimes, you have to swallow your pride and be the bigger man or woman in this case. "Fine. It was stupid of me. How could you even think that I could out run a horse? I cannot out run an animal that was born for running, it's just beyond me."

Saya smiled at this, "Exactly."

This confused Hanabi, "huh?"

The older woman pushed some more wood to the fire and explained, "Pride is a dangerous think, Meha Neha. It is like a fire that can consume both the user and the bystander. To be strong, one must know their limits and one cannot know their limits until they don't remove their veil of pride."

Hanabi's eyes widened in realization at this. "So..... This was all a test? Winner had nothing to do with it?"

Saya had a proud smile on her face, "Yes indeed........ And you passed." The human girl couldn't help but smile at this. She was doing it. She was learning something!

The Sai'ore stood up and spoke once again, "Eat up and rest for half an hour. Then we will start your real lessons."

Hanabi's face turned pale in fear at this, "W-what? You cannot be serious! I can hardly move!"

"The path of a Hrontre'haree is never easy, Neha."

"You're evil."

Saya laughed at this. It was a small start. Not exactly so grand but a start nonetheless. Saya would try her best to help Hanabi. She would keep her promise..........................................................


	13. The little red hood

_Darkness surrounded her. It was bottom less black. Not a spark of light was visible and the silence was deafening. In the pitch black void, she couldn't even feel her own body._

_What was she doing here?_

_Why was she here?_

_Her questions were not answered. She was all alone, floating in the endless void of oblivion._

_There she heard it. Laughter . A faint laughter. One of a child by the sound of it. On instinct, Saya turned towards it, trying to find the one who caused it. The culprit stunned her._

_It was but a small Sai'oren child. No older than four winters._

_With a smile brighter than the sun itself, the child ran towards Saya and wrapped her arms around the tall woman's leg._

_"Maae!" She cried the Sai'oren word for 'Mother'._

_The word sent a jolt of electricity down Saya's body. She looked at the child more intently, her form seeming more familiar by each passing second. After what seemed like an eternity, Saya chocked out, "Samahi?"_

_She remembered now, it was the soldier that Saya couldn't save after the crash landing. Just only a lot younger than Saya remembered. The child smiled and opened her arms up to Saya. It was clear that she wanted to be lifted up._

_Hesitatingly, Saya complied and lifted the toddler. Samahi's smile widened. Latching on to Saya's neck, she hugged her warmly, "Maa." Squeaked, bringing an entirely new waves of emotion in Saya._

_Her long dormant maternal instincts resurfaced and Saya involuntarily hugged the child back._

_How long had it been since she had held a child so close?_

_How long had it been since she felt the swell of love and warmth fill her when a child would call her 'Maa'?_

_For far too long it seems. Drops of tears formed at the edge of Saya's eyes. She had missed this. She missed holding a child close to one's self and feel the love and affection explode in her heart till it actually hurt. This child may not be her own, but still the love she felt for it was as much as that of any mother._

_"I am here, my child. I am here." She whispered and hugged her tightly._

_Time seemed meaningless here, as Saya just stood there with the small child in her arms. She felt content. She felt right at home. As if the horrors that happened a few weeks ago never happened._

_Suddenly, she heard a loud horn._

_Not just any horn._

_It was a war horn of a Kastiyan Dreadnought._

_Saya's opened her eyes and she gasped in horror._

_Death and destruction was all that surrounded her. Plasma beams from Kastiyan ships were laying waste to their Sai'oren fleet. Innocent civilians running away in fear as many were gunned down by Kasiyan soldiers. They were calling for help. They were calling for her._

_The child in her arms whimpered, bringing Saya back from her trench. Her instincts kicked in, all thoughts left her as only one goal filled her mind. She had to get out of here; she had to save her child._

_Turning the other way, Saya bolted ahead, shutting herself to the cried of her dying citizens. She was no longer Saya the Empress whose duty was to her people, she was Saya the Mother, who was scared and desperate to save her child._

_Everything around faded away into the void as Saya kept running with Samahi. She was scared. She was desperate. To her surprise, suddenly she was surrounded by the Kastiyans. Their insect like bodies was an intimidating figure. Samahi hide her face inside Saya's arms as the older woman was now in a defensive stance._

_Her ears were low; her face was twisted into a primal snare as she showed her fangs threateningly at those aliens. She was like a cornered tigress that would do anything to save her cub. The Kastiyans didn't hesitate. Aiming down their plasma rifles, they fired._

_Involuntarily, Saya put her body in between those attacks and Samahi. However, Plasma is not like lead bullets. They have extremely high piercing power due to their hot molten like state, thus it had no problem passing through Saya's frail body and reach the one thing she had come to treasure the most._

_With a gaping hole in her small chest because of the plasma shot, Samahi gasped for air, as the hole in Saya's body, started healing rapidly. Saya's eyes widened in horror at this. "Nai!" she cried as tears flowed freely down her eyes. There was nothing she could do but watch as life fade away from someone so young like the child in her arms._

_Hopelessness and despair._

_That was what filled Saya as violent sobs escaped her mouth and she held the cold and limp body of Samahi close to herself.The Kastiyans marched closer to her, wanting to end this quick. Saya looked up at the Insect like extraterrestrial. A new emotion emerged within her. One that she had not felt for a long time._

_Rage._

_Pure, unbridled and unending rage._

_It was their fault. And Saya wanted to make them pay. Lunging up at the Kastiyan, Saya ran her sword through it as green blood dripped down from its gaping wound. But Saya was not done yet. With a swift slash, its head was separated from its body and it fell down lifelessly on the ground. The others fired at her in response. The Plasma rounds turned her body literally into Swiss-cheese, but unfortunately, it meant nothing for Saya as her mortal wounds healed within moments._

_Not satisfied at the death of a single enemy, Saya looked towards the other Kastiyans with furious eyes. They needed to pay and Saya would make sure of it._

_She attacked and mowed down waves and waves of enemies without a single regard of her body. They would try all they could to take her down but Saya's powers made it so that she just couldn't die. Retribution was swift. She kept on fighting. So much that even her powers wavered for moment but still she didn't stop. She was too fast. She was too powerful. She was invincible._

_Soon the entire population of the Kastiyan warriors lay dead on her feet. Yet the victory meant nothing. Saya looked sorrowfully at Samahi's prone figure._

_What good were all her powers if she couldn't even save a single child?_

_What good was her powers if she had no goal to use it for?_

_It had been for so long that she had been watching over her people that they were like children to her and she was their mother. Now all of it was gone. What else was she suppose to do now?_

_Emptiness like none other filled her. Now she was lonelier then she had ever been in her long life._

_Saya sat down heavily on the ground._

_What use was it anyways?_

_She couldn't save her home world, nor could she save the one she had loved. Now she lost her only anchor as well._

_It was times like these that Saya truly despised her inability to die for now, it seemed like death was the only end to her endless torture._

_"Saya......" a voice called out of the blue, ending Saya's thoughts on its track._

_"Saya-chan......" It called once again, but it only sounded closer._

_Saya looked around and suddenly she saw it. A ray of light. Although small, it was enough to chase away the darkness that surrounded her._

_"Saya-chan!" the voice called again as Saya could now see a silhouette from the bright rays. "Hanabi?" Saya chocked out at last. She was suddenly held by her arms and pulled out of the darkness._

\---X---

Her eyes flung open as she felt someone tucking her hand. Saya looked at the intruder but lowered her guard when she realized that it was none other than her student-friend Hanabi.

"Arika Saya-sensei, the sun is already up." Hanbi greeted enthusiastically as she got out of their hut and stretched her body as the bright rays of the sun fell on her masked face.

As for the older woman, she looked around herself, trying to remember just where she was right now. Memories flooded back towards her and Saya realized that she was still in the hut she had built on top of the hill. What she saw before was nothing but a dream.

"Saya-chan, Are you alright?" now Hanabi asked with a worried voice when she realized that Saya was not answering her. This brought Saya out of her thoughts and she answered with a nod, "Yes, I am well." groggily, Saya got out of her bedroll.

Once out of her bed, Hanabi was immediately before her and asked energetically, "So tell me, Sensei! What new technique are you going to teach me today?"

"Dhara'he, Neha. Patients; one must walk before they run. Go and practice what I had taught before."

"But I've been doing that for days now!"

"Listen to your elder, Neha. Do as I say."

Hanabi grumbled and muttered a low 'fine'. Saya chuckled at her antics. The kunoichi went towards a huge tree and started practicing her moves on the tree.

"Remember; legs strong, back straight. Use the strength of your body and not just your arm."

\---X---

It has been a few weeks by now since Hanabi had started training under Saya. So far the Sai'ore had only but taught Hanabi the basics and more focus was put on strengthening Hanabi's body. To her it seemed unnecessary, but Saya insisted that if she wanted to learn under her, Hanabi would have to follow her rules.

It was difficult to learn, for Hanabi was trying to learn the martial skills that was not exactly intended for humans. Some of physical differences were a bit hindering to Hanabi as Sai'ore were generally more light and flexible than humans, herself included. But the most abstracting obstacle was language.

Saya was more or less fluent in Vorkish and Hanabi was good in common tongue, but some of the various stances and positions were unique to the Hrontre'haare ways and they could only be explained in Sai'oren. Vorkish or common tongue simply didn't had the words to describe them all so one thing was clear, Hanabi had to learn Sai'oren.

That was where the problem began.

Learning a new language is not an easy task. Especially for an adult. But learning a language that was never spoke by any being on the Land of Dawn?

Hanabi had no idea whether she should she feel honored or curse her luck.

Still she managed to pick it up slowly. It helped a lot that Sai'oren vastly resembled the language Sanskrit that was prominent in the eastern kingdom of Mahar Pura.

\---X---

It was just like one of those fine days where Hanabi was practicing a new move she had learned from Saya. Jabbing a training dummy made of sack filled with hay (Something Saya had made for her training) Hanabi closed in fast to the dummy and held it firmly by its 'waist', as Saya had instructed, Hanabi used her legs to ground herself more firmly and heaved. The moment the dummy left the ground, Hanabi pushed with her leg. The dummy was taller than her but with the combined effort of her arms as well as her legs; Hanabi lifted the dummy and threw it over her head and on the hard ground.

When the dummy hit the ground, Hanabi immediately grabbed its 'head' in a head lock and with a twist that could break a neck, Hanabi was done.

Panting heavily after the entire training, Hanabi sat heavily on the ground. Saya's fighting style was basically wrestling; it demanded a lot of power and stamina from its user but it was in fact an excellent way of exercising. Although, Saya advised not using it in an actual fight.

"You should really consider removing the mask, Neha." Advised Saya, who was busy writing on a huge piece of paper.

Hanabi scoffed. Saya would always point this strange habit of her to wear the face mask at every time, and Hanabi replied cheekily, "I'm fine. Plus I look sexier like this."

Saya frowned at this, but Hanabi did have a point. That face mask did little to nothing to hide her identity as it was very tight and one could see her lip impressions parting behind every word she spoke through the fabric. But Saya did found It strangely.............. Alluring.

Shaking her head and turning away to hide the blush forming on her white cheeks, Saya mumbles, "The sun will set in a few hours. I will start making dinner."

The night fell soon and Hanabi now sat before the bonfire, eating a bowl of food that Saya had cooked, after a hard day filled with training.

The kunoichi had really started to love Saya's cooking as she ate bowl after bowl of food which Saya served gladly. She had been working hard and she would get really hungry by the end of day so Saya would try to make sure that Hanabi gets all the important nutrients she needed to keep up with her vigorous training.

With her belly filled with food, Hanabi was ready to call it a day and hit the hay. But stopped when she noticed that Saya was still writing on the paper. Come to think of it, Saya had been writing that for days now. It's just that Hanabi was too tired to notice until now.

Kneeling beside Saya, Hanabi asked, "What are you doing?"

Saya didn't look at Hanabi and continued writing. She did answer her question however, "These are the various codes, rules, philosophy and techniques that had once been a crucial part of the Hrontre'haare class of our people. Time may have changed many aspects of its laws, but the foundation is still strong as the time when I first learned it from my Guru'ba. When you are ready, you too shall learn its secrets........ Till then, I must prepare this and you must prepare yourself."

Hanabi looked at the paper where Saya was writing in Sai'oren script with awe. The information and power she could achieve by deciphering the Alien inscriptions.

"So..... I will become a Hrontre'haare too?"

Saya smiled at this, "Perhaps.That remains to be seen. Sleep now; you have another day ahead of you."

\---X---

_A few days later:-_

"Why are we here again?" asked Hanabi as she and Saya rode down the hill.

"Our supplies have exhausted, so have most of our money. We must find a way to get some, or else it would be hard for us. The town nearby should help us well." explained Saya patiently as they two emerged to a cobbled stone road form the forest area.

After an hour's ride, the town of New Wood was in their view. New wood town was a tiny town at the edge of a huge river. The small fishing town was not anything special save the fact that it was probably the only town willing be so close to the Dark forest.

It was true; the infamous dark forest was just on the other side of the river. And as the forest itself, the town was shabby and gloomy. Dirty muddy road, run down houses, foul odor, those were one of the few reasons why, Hanabi didn't like coming to this town as she had came here many times before to grab a few supplies when they were still living in their hut on top of the hill.

"I don't like this place." She grumbled as she followed Saya to a tavern.

"I know, but please do bear with it for a while, Neha." Spoke the older woman and pushed the door of the tavern they were going to. Strong smell of sweat and alcohol invaded Saya's nose as she used all her might not to gag and puke then and there. Steeling herself, Saya went in, with Hanabi following closely behind her.

Most eyes were on them by now, especially on Hanabi as most of the occupants looked at the young ninja's more revealing outfit like hawks. It made Hanabi very nervous and self conscious, but Saya pulled her closer by her hand and shot a deadly glare at the onlookers. The glare form Saya's furious snake like eyes must've spooked them all as they looked the other way immediately.

She didn't let go of Hanabi's hand from then and she was grateful for it. The simple gesture made Hanabi much more comfortable then she previously was.

Saya approached the main keeper of the inn, who was manning the bar right now.

"How can I help some fine ladies like yourselves today?" he asked with a smile that was as shallow as a puddle.

Ignoring his antics, Saya got straight to business, "We are looking for paying jobs. I wanted to know if you could point us to some."

"Jobs eh?........ Well what sort of 'jobs'?" the barkeeper said suggestively by wagging his brow. Saya's face was impassive but the grip around her sword tightened at this. The action didn't go unnoticed by the Barkeeper and he raised his hands in surrender, "No need to get violent, Milady. There is the bulletin board. The Mayor's men paste new jobs there on regular biases. Feel free to pick anyone up." He pointed at a board filled with pamphlets on the other side of the travern.

Saya nodded her head at the man as a thanks and turned to Hanabi, "Neha, Choose a job for us would you?" the kunoichi nodded and made her way towards the board, while Saya sat on a bar stool.

Suddenly the door flung open and in came a new personality. Saya noticed that the once cheery atmosphere of the tavern turned grim and cold. Hushed whispers were exchanged amongst the people.

"It's her."

"She is still alive?"

"A black magic is at work, I tell you." These were the words Saya could pick up. Curiosity swelled within Saya, for who could possibly induce such a reaction from the patrons of the Tavern. Imagine her shock when she saw that it was but a young girl.

She couldn't have been older than fifteen winters old. Wearing a bright red hood and cloak. She had sun kissed golden hair and her right eye was covered with a red eye patch. Her face looked serene but her baby blue eyes told a whole new story.

Those eyes, they were not of a child.

Saya had never seen such disturbing obsession in an eye so young before. It had a craze and sadism in it that would make even the most seasoned warrior weary. What was more disturbing was the fact that Saya could smell the unmistakable smell of dried blood from the child. It kept not only her, but the entire tavern on their edge.

Turning towards the Barkeeper, Saya asked, "Who is that little girl?"

The barkeeper narrowed his eyes, "She may look like a sweet little girl, Milady, but don't be fooled by it. She always comes by to get a job or two and comes after a few weeks to get paid and have food. The girl has a craze like no other in this world, hunting down her prey and bathing in their blood. Some even say that she is actually a wolf in a girl hide. I would stay clear form her if I were you, Milady."

Saya nodded at eyed the red hooded girl intently. Something felt really wrong about her. She would have to be careful with her. But then Saya's eyes widened when she realized just where the little red hood was heading towards, "Hanabi...."

\---X---

Oblivious to all the commotion that was happening around her, Hanabi was busy choosing the best job for them.

"Hmm.... To easy...."

"Too little reward......"

"I'm not into finding lost stuffs....."

"Oh, this looks nice!" Hanabi exclaimed. It was a job which required them to go the dark forest and slay the unknown beast that had been living there for a long time. It was hard, but Hanabi thought that it would be an excellent chance to test her new honed skills. Happy with her decision, Hanabi reached out to take the pamphlet............ only for another hand to grab it as well.

"Eh?"

Hanabi turned and saw that it was non-other than the little red hood who had been holding on to the parchment.

"Um, excuse me..... But your holding the pamphlet." Hanabi spoke.

The girl looked over her with cloudy eyes and replied air headedly, "So it seems."

"So... could you let go.... I and my friend need this job."

"I will be doing this job." she spoke with a calm voice.

It seemed to unnerve Hanabi. She gritted her teeth and spoke, "Can you please let go. I am getting late."

"No you let go."

Hanabi lost it now, "What? Why should I let go? I got the pamphlet first!"

"But I come here regularly, so I will do It." the girl explained in a calm tone. Hanabi was literally about explode in rage but another voice suddenly barged in, "Hanabi, you okay?" the two turned and saw that it was a figure of very worried Saya. Pointing and accusing finger at the younger girl, Hanabi complained, "This Gaki is trying to steal our job!"

"The job is too hard for inexperienced people like you. You will die the moment you enter the forest." The girl spoke causally. This caused Saya to frown and Hanabi to seethe even more angrily.

"Why you....." Hanabi would've strangled the girl but Saya held her back. The Sai'ore turned towards the girl and asked, "How are you so sure that we will not survive the job?"

"Many have gone, only I survived. You should turn back while you can." The girl replied. Hanabi was now fuming at this, grumbling angrily about 'disrespectful Gaki'. But Saya gave the girl a worried look. "Then what about you? Are you going to go there alone?"

It was for a split second. Most would not notice it but Saya saw it. A look of sorrow flashed across the young girls face. "It's fine. I can manage. I have nothing to lose anyways." The last part was barely a whisper. But Saya could hear it with her Sai'oren ears.

The hurt undertone was clear as day. Here was a child, who had lost her everything. Who was broken and hid it with a mask of lunacy. Saya couldn't leave her, not when she now knew the truth.

"How about a deal that." Saya offered.

This caused the other two to be quite shocked. The Sai'ore continued, "We can work together, the reward will be split in equal shares."

Hanabi looked absolutely horrified at this, "You cannot be serious!"

The girl didn't reply, just looked at Saya's eyes for any traces of deception. When she found none, the girl chuckled, "It's your funeral."

Saya extended her hand to the girl, "So, Do we have a deal, Miss..?"

The girl shook her hand, "Ruby. My name is Ruby."

\---X---

After Saya and Hanabi had left, the hut on the hill was basically abandoned as they had no intention of returning. It was night time by then when a huge group of creeps and orcs arrived at the clearing and searched the area till almost everything was destroyed.

"They are not here." Growled Balmond as he held his axe tighter.

"They cannot have gone far; I suggest we keep heading forward." Suggested Moskov passively.

"That's what you've been saying for the past few weeks now, Half-breed!" roared the orc berserker in the demon half-breed's face.

"Stand down, my pet. No need to be rude." Chided Alice, who suddenly appeared from the shadows. The rest of the forces bowed at her arrival, but she paid no heed to them and looked around the area.

It was clear that Saya and Hanabi had camped here for a long time. Alice could smell Saya's scent all over the area and it was driving her crazy. Alice bent down and touched the ground. Closing her eyes, she used her powers. There she felt it. She felt Saya's presence.

"This way my pets." She called and took off into the night sky. Balmond grumbled but followed her begrudgingly on foot with the rest of his men.

All the while a single though occupied Alice's mind, "I am coming for you, My Darling."........................................


	14. The Dark Forest

_The next day-_

Saya and Hanabi were waiting for their new comrade by the river docks as they had agreed to yesterday. The Sai'ore was sitting patiently on one of the many empty barrels lining the docks, all the while thwacking the bowstring of the new bow she had purchased the day before. Hanabi paced around impatiently and grumbled, "Where the hell is that Gaki? We are already late."

"Dhara'he, Neha. I'm sure she is on her way." replied Saya patiently even when Hanab's patients was running thin.

"I'm still surprised why you even called that Gaki along with us. I'm sure the two can handle this job well on our own. In fact, we should get going right now!" Declared Hanabi stubbornly.

The older woman frowned, "Have you learned nothing, Hana? Pride is a fire that destroys and we have given our word to Miss. Ruby. A warrior never backs down from her word."

The Kunoichi sulked and muttered a low 'alright' at this. Saya nodded and went back to her bow. Hanabi looked towards Saya at this. Her eyes especially at the bow that Saya held in her hand.

It was nothing special. Just a B-shaped composite bow made up of wood and leather straps. Something Saya had bought along with a quiver full of wooden arrows with iron tips.

"Are you sure you can use that thing, Saya-chan?" the ninja girl asked.

Saya smiled and notched an arrow into the bow and stretched the string all the way till her ear, "True that a bow is a far primitive weapon than a gun. But it's lighter and silent; perfect for hunting. And it was one of the first weapons I learned how to use." Then she slowly released the string and the arrow soared through the air and reached all the way up to the other side of the river bank, covering a distance of about 600 metres with ease. Saya nodded to herself in satisfaction as her skills with a bow had not been spoilt by the use of plasma rifles.

Soon another figure announced its presence, "Sorry I am late." The two turned and saw that it was none other than Ruby who was walking towards them leisurely.

"You are late." Hanabi growled.

Ruby smiled and explained smoothly, "Oh, I was on my way here but a black cat crossed my path and I had to make a detour from around the town."

The kunoichi was not amused at this, "Are you kidding me!"

Saya however had other questions occupying her mind. Mainly about Ruby's weapon of choice. Noticing Saya's stare, Ruby turned toward her and smiled, "Like it? I wash my hook with blood." She spoke while petting the huge scythe she held in her hand.

The Sai'ore knew about Scythe, a primitive farming tool; sometimes even used by peasants as an improvised weapon. But she had never seen someone use it as a primary weapon. So Saya highly dough its actual effectiveness in a battle field. Yet she didn't point it out, respecting Ruby's odd choice in weapon.

"We should get going."

They had to leave Nhari the horse back in the stable of the town as their destination was on the other side of the river. Hiring the only ferry that was willing to take them across the river and into the forest, Saya now found herself along with Hanabi and Ruby on a small boat that was taking them across the river.

"Don't know if you are stupid or suicidal, but I still advise that you don't go inside that cursed forest." The ferryman said as he took his clients nearer to the dark forest. His warnings left disregarded by the three of them

Upon reaching the shore, the boat stopped, "This is as far as I will take you. Should you want a ride back, just light a fire over this area and I will come to fetch. If you return that is." the man explained ominously, sending chills down Hanabi's back.

The ferry man returned, leaving the three females alone in front of the dark forest. Saya looked towards the misty and gloomy forest. Unlike the rest of the forests she had seen in this world, this one was dark and dull. It was damp and cold with an unsettling eeriness in the air. This place was not normal. A foul power was at work here.

"Come along then, don't want you getting lost now do we?" declared Ruby marching ahead as if it was her own home. Saya wisely followed her and Hanabi took after her, "Hey, wait up!"

The dark forest truly lived up to its name because even if it was still day time, the inside of the forest was dark. The canopy was so thick that most rays of the sun was abstracted, leaving the forest very dark. Hanabi had her guard up, her weapon Higanbana ready to strike anything should it decide to attack them. Saya's eyes and ears were fully alert. Darting here and there for even the smallest ounce of sound. This place agitated them. It put them on edge as soon as they had entered it.

Surprisingly, Ruby was having no such trouble. Having been here in countless occasions, she strides through the dense forest without any trouble at all.

This carried on for a whole hour, their journey was eventless but the tension was very thick. The silent nature of the dark and misty forest bugged the hell out of Saya. It was quiet. A bit too quiet. No forest should be this quiet.

"Come along comrades, we still have a long way." said Ruby, causing the two of them to flinch when their train of thoughts were broken abruptly.

"I hate that, Gaki." Mumbled Hanabi lowly.

Their main objective was suppose to be in the middle of the forest, thus the journey was longer than expected.

"How much further now, Miss. Ruby?" asked Saya walking beside the little red hood. The girl looked up to her and smiled, "We are about to reach the check point."

Ruby's words confused them both but they soon understood what she meant. The group of three reached their check point.

It was a town, or more specifically, it was the remains of a town. It fit the perfect description of a ghost town, as Saya and Hanabi followed Ruby down the old worn out road. The abandoned town was old and shabby. With nearly destroyed buildings with bushed and plants growing form and within many houses. It may have been Saya's imagination but she felt like as if she could actually hear many whispers in the wind, adding even more haunted like feel to the already spooky atmosphere.

"What is this place?" asked Hanabi.

Ruby answered ominously, "This madam ninja is what was once called the Old Wood town. Six years ago, a pack of wolves raided and destroyed this town. The survivors felt the town and built the New Wood town on the other side of the river."

The little girl touched one of the buildings that had a claw mark on it and spoke further, "When the protector of the town, the legendary hunter Roger; disappeared without a trace. Pale tusk the wolf king attacked this town. They destroyed everything."

Her tone was solemn. Very different from the usual calm and casual tone she speaks in. But it disappeared as soon as it came, "We should keep moving. We are still very far from our goal."

With that, Ruby walked forward. Saya and Hanabi gave her an uncertain look but followed her anyways. They left the town behind and were now entering the mid-zone of the forest.

"So......Any idea what that unknown creature is?" Hanabi to Ruby.

"Hmm...... maybe a beast or a man." was her reply, which confused and freaked the kunoichi out. "Seriously, you need to stop doing that."

The younger girl actually laughed at this.

Suddenly, Saya heard something in the air as her ear twitched. "Stay quiet." She hushed and listened more carefully, making the two of them confused. Saya looked around frantically, all they while taking deep sniffs. She could hear something, and the wind carried a foul smell.

"What's wrong?" asked Hanabi as she and Ruby came closer towards her.

Then out of the blue, a three small darts were thrown at their way. Acting quickly Saya stood before Hanabi and Ruby, taking the attack for them. However, one of the dart passed by her and hit Ruby regardless of what she did. A sudden wave of nausea filled Saya's head as she struggled to stand still. The dart seemed to have been coated in some sort of tranquilizing raisin as Ruby fell down unconscious on the ground.

"Ruby!" Hanabi cried.

Saya would've joined her too had to not been for her healing factor, which fought off the effects of the tranquilizer. She dropped on her knee as the dizziness left her slowly. Hanabi was already beside her with a worried face, "Are you alright Saya-chan." The older woman ripped off the darts off her body and nodded, "How is Miss. Ruby?"

"She is out cold. What happened?" Hanabi's voice was filled with concern and confusion. As in queue, they heard someone yell, "Get them!"

Saya's eyes widened in panic as she saw a huge hoard of creeps and Orcs burst out of the thick forest and charge towards them.

"We gotta go." The tall woman threw Ruby over her shoulder and turned to Hanabi. "Run!" she need not be told twice.

\---X---

With a huge hoard hot on their heels along with an unconscious Ruby on her back, Saya and Hanabi ran through the dark misty forest.

"What do we do now?" asked Hanabi to the Sai'oren, avoiding the various arrows and darts thrown towards them. Saya had to be extra careful as she didn't want any of those missiles to hit the unconscious girl she had been holding.

"Fighting is not a choice. There is too many of them and Ruby is vulnerable. We should try to get away from them." She then winched when an arrow hit her back, causing Saya to move the little red hooded girl off her back and carry her on the front so that Saya's body would act as a shield.

This concerned Hanabi very much. True that Saya would heal but still, the prospect of the Sai'ore constantly putting herself in harm's way to protect others really didn't sit well with Hanabi. It concerned her to no end. Yet the situation at hand was dire, they needed to get away.

Back at the hoard. Following the small army of abyssal forces was Alice. And she didn't look please. One of the creeps was going to shoot an arrow at their fleeing target but the Queen of Apocalypse stopped it by kicking it away.

"You fool! I want that Xeno alive and unharmed. Not like a pin cushion!" she roared.

Her order clear as day, they all nodded and chased without attacking them. This proved to be a bad decision as once Saya and Hanabi didn't had to worry about arrows shot at their direction; they could completely focus on making as much distance as possible.

Hanabi burst through a bush and was about to run further ahead, but stopped abruptly when she realized that there was trench before her. It was very deep with a large stream flowing through it. An old looking rope bridge was what joined the two sides of the trench. The kunoichi was not thrilled at the prospect of using the bridge as it looked like it would give away at any moment.

Soon Saya rushed out of the bush as well. Carrying Ruby had slowed her down considerably but sill Saya was not going to leave her behind any moment soon. When she saw the bridge, she too had a very bad feeling about it. But desperate times like this called for desperate measures. So she turned towards Hanabi and nodded.

Knowing the severity of the situation, Hanabi didn't argue and went ahead. The bridge was old and couldn't have supported much weight so they had to go one at a time. Once the ninja girl reached the other side, Saya got on the bridge as well. She was carrying Ruby, thus she had to be extra careful as the bridge was barely holding the weight of two people.

Back at the horde.

Moskov saw this as clear as crystal. Turning towards Alice he spoke, "My Queen. They are crossing the bridge. If they cross it, then we will lose them for good."

Alice stood beside him, her face impassive but inside, she was having emotional turmoil. She really wanted to meet Saya again after such a long time. After all this was her mission. Yet still, she had no idea why but a small part of her was not willing to see Saya in peril.

"My queen?" the abyssal demon half-breed spoke once again, bringing Alice out of her thoughts. The blood demon queen shook her head and held her arm. The one where Selena had scratched her. Where the claw mark had still not healed.

"Stop her. You know what to do." Ordered Alice with a voice which perfectly masked the reluctance behind it. The man nodded and held his javelin firmly.

Turning back towards his target, which was about a good 500 meters away, Moskov let out a breath. He got on a low stance and aimed at his target. A dark miasma surrounded his javelin as he held his weapon loosely. "The spear of destiny hit, and will hit you." He muttered.

With that he hurled the javelin towards them, totally missing the look of concern across Alice's face.

Saya was about half way across the bridge. That was when she sensed the immediate danger coming her way. Her eyes widened when she saw a dark javelin flying towards her and since Saya had her hands full, she couldn't dodge it in time.

Moskov's aim struck true. His javelin pierced right through Saya's back and sprouted out of her chest. Saya let out a scream of pain. She dropped to her knee as blood oozed out of her wound and stained her gambeson. Miraculously, Saya had still not let go of Ruby who lay in her arms unharmed. Hanabi was not able to do anything but look at her friend with speechless horror.

Soon the forces of the abyss burst out of the forest and was rushing towards them. Many of them were already on the bridge by now and were closing on to Saya. The Sai'ore had no other choice now.

To ensure Hanabi's safety, she would have to do what she was about to do.

Saya turned towards Hanabi, looking directly in her terrified blue eyes. "Go." The older woman wheezed out. With that, she unsheathed her sword and started to hack away the ropes of the bridge.

Till Hanabi regained her senses, it was too late. With a might slash, the rope holding the bridge together was cut. The bridge gave away and soon started falling. The kunoichi watched helplessly as Saya, Ruby and many other creeps and Orcs who had boarded the ship fall down the trench and into the river.

"Saya!" she screamed.

Hanabi couldn't believe it. She was gone. Saya was gone just like that.

_'No it cannot be, Saya will not die like this. She can heal.......but what if this time she couldn't?'_ This though scared Hanabi even more. She had to find her. She had to find Saya!

The kunoichi wasted no time and followed the river.

\---X---

Alice and the rest of her forces came toward the trench where the bridge once was. Moskov looked down the river and muttered, "That was unexpected."

The queen rubbed her temple and sighed, "The Xeno can heal herself so this is not over. We follow the river till we find what we came for."

"What about the ninja who got away?" asked Moskov asked.

"Let Balmond take care of it."

"No." objected the orc with a gruff voice. Alice turned towards him and narrowed her eyes dangerously, "What did you said?"

Glared back with equal furiocity, "Too many of my men are killed on behalf of you. I agreed to help your kind win war, not help you carry out errands!"

Alice rubbed her eyes at this, "I'm not in the mood, Pet." With that, she looked at the BloodAxe orc in the eye and spoke lowly, "So do as I say. I command you."

Balmond wanted to resist. He wanted to resist so bad, but because of his curse, he could not. Alice's hold on him was too strong. The orc growled lowly, "Your enchant may have hold over me, whence. But one will come, who will stand up to your tyranny." With that, he ordered his men to follow him. They had a ninja to hunt.

The Blood Demon queen scoffed at Balmond's threat. It didn't matter for she knew that no matter how much Balmond tries, he cannot defy her. Not when Balmond was cursed and bound to her by blood.

"Move out, pets. I want to meet my Darling." Chirped Alice and took the air. Moskov and the rest of the creeps followed.

Unknown to them, a pair of pupil-less yellow eyes was looking at them from the shadows of the forest.........................


	15. The Big Bad wolf

Hanabi ran as fast as her legs would allow her. She took a path through the forest, it should lead her towards the river where she could hopefully intercept Saya and Ruby but she had to be quick. With not much time in her hand, Hanabi ran faster. Her friend needed her and Hanabi was determined to be there in time.

However, fate had other plans.

"There is the Human scum!" one of Balmond's Orc yelled out of the blue and soon more of them came out of nowhere. They had managed to follow her across the trench and were hell bent of catching her by any means necessary.

Dodging arrows shot her way, Hanabi bolted deeper into the forest to elude them; unknowingly making her way further and further away from the river.

\---X---

Saya gasped for air as she tried to keep her and Ruby's head out of the water with great difficulty. The strong current of the river violently took them down stream while the Sai'ore struggled to keep them afloat. Which was even more difficult as Saya didn't exactly know how to swim. (Just like majority of the Sirayans)

Due to the sleep dart, Ruby was still out cold. Thus all the responsibility now rested on Saya's shoulders. Cursing loudly, she used her legs to kick the water in cyclic pattern to stay afloat, but it only served to keep them afloat and not stir them ashore.

Suddenly, the currents became faster and violent; causing Saya to get submerged once more. In panic, she clawed her way up to the surface once again and gasped. The Sai'ore looked ahead of her and her blood ran cold. There before her, lay a huge waterfall.

Panic rose within her as she desperately tried to make her way towards the river shore. Easier said than done for someone who didn't know how to swim and was also trying not to let her unconscious companion drown.

As the waterfall came closer, so did her panic rose. Saya lashed out and took a hold of the nearest submerged rock she could find with all her might. Right now, she was more worried about the young girl than herself, for should they fall down the waterfall; Saya might lose her hold around Ruby and she may drown.

The current was pushing her harder. Saya gritted her teeth, trying to hold on to the slippery rock. Alas, her grip failed her. Saya's hold on the rock broke and the current swept both Saya and Ruby down the water falls.

Just as she had feared. The water current pushed them deeper into the depths of the river. Saya still didn't let go of Ruby and tried to swim up to the surface. She tried. She tried so hard. But she couldn't.

As if something was holding her back and dragging her deeper into the river. The shimmering light of the surface became dimmer and dimmer. The lack of oxygen in her brain made her woozy.

Soon her body seized moving, yet still only thoughts she had in her mind was that of regret. Regret that she wouldn't be able to save Ruby. Regret that she might not see Hanabi again. Regret that she failed once again.

The world around her grew darker as the light in Saya's eyes started fading. However, before the darkness embraced her; a hand suddenly took a hold her. It pulled her upwards.

Saya found herself being dragged all the way to the surface and towards the river shore. The moment she reached hard land, Saya coughed out water from her lungs and gasped heavily for air.

A figure, likely her saviour; stood before her and spoke teasingly, "Well, aren't you in a sorry state, Darling."

Saya's eyes widened at this for she recognised the voice. The Sai'ore immediately looked up. There, with a smug smirk was none other than Alice.

\---X---

"Kuso! Kuso!" Hanabi cursed loudly while running at full speed.

The orcs were getting more and more violent in their efforts to capture her as she had already taken down a few of their numbers when they got too close. It was clear that they only wanted to capture her. Weather dead or alive didn't matter.

One of the orcs got too close to her yet again and lunged on to her. Here her training with Saya helped because before the orc could shove her down, she used the orc's own momentum against him and threw it over her. Before it knew what had happened Hanabi plunged a kunai through its skull, ending its life in an instant.

However, she couldn't revere in her small victory for too long as the rest of its kin followed right behind her and they were even more infuriated.

Thus, Hanabi ran. They were too many of them and she knew her limits. She ran further deep into the forest. Part that was untouched for centuries. Part that was supposed to be forgotten. Part where she never should've gone.

Balmond was very angry right now. Angry at the fact that the human trash had already killed some of his men. But he was even more angry at the fact that he was supposed to do such a lowly task. But he couldn't disobey. Not when his soul was under the hold of that Demon whore. He had no choice but to bitterly swallow his pride and obey.

In his anger, he failed to see just where he was chasing the human ninja girl. Just where was it that the girl was leading them.

Then they heard it. Howls. Not just any howls, but wolf howls. It echoed through the forest.

It hit Balmond like a ton of bricks. He now remembers the old stories. Stories of an ancient evil, the terror of Dark forest. A horror that has taken hold of the forest since the older days. A beast in the form of wolf that preys on the unsuspecting.

Seems the tales were true.

Wolves, far bigger than normal wolves which stood over six feet tall. They jumped upon his men out of nowhere. Many of his men were slaughtered, the casualties were too high. The orc leader decided that the task was just not worth the risk at all.

"Fall back!" Balmond ordered his men, making sure that he could save as much of his people as possible. They shall not die in vain. The Human girl would be killed by the wolves anyways.

Hanabi had heard the howls and the screeches of pain and terror from her pursuers. Yet she didn't dare look back to find out what was happening. Her fight or flight instinct was commanding her to take the flight route, so she tried to evade them while they were distracted.

So desperate she was to escape that she didn't really see where she was running into.

There before her was a huge pit. It was already too late till she spotted it. Hanabi fell straight down the pit and into its bottom. Luckly the pit wasn't too deep so she acquired only a few scratches and minimum injuries. Slowly she stood up and dusted herself and looked up. Since the pit wasn't so deep, climbing out wouldn't be too much of a problem.

She would've done just that but before she did, Hanabi decided to take a look at where exactly she had fallen. The Kunoichi's eyes widened in surprise when she found out that in the middle of the pit was a huge pile of skeleton. Not just any skeleton but a wolf skeleton.

It was big. Bigger than any wolf that could naturally be possible. Judging by the sheer size of its bones, the creature must've been over twenty feet tall.

Every ounce of her being screamed at her to get away from there. To turn tail and run as far as possible from the skeleton of the colossal beast. Yet her curiosity spoke otherwise. She wanted to have a closer look, even when her mind protested. Hanabi approached the skeleton cautiously, as if her body had suddenly revolted against the wishes of her mind.

_'Besides, it's just a dead skeleton. What could go wrong?'_

Upon reaching the skull of the Giant wolf, Hanabi ran her hand across it. Feeling its rough surface with her hand. Pondering how it would've been like to be in the presence of such a beast when it still walked the earth.

Lost in her thoughts Hanabi wasn't careful about what she touched and she accidentally cut her finger on the rough bony surface of the skull. The Kunoichi flinched away and nursed her slightly cut finger which was bleeding mildly. Drops of blood oozed out of the cut and fell on the ground.

One of the blood droplet fell on the skeleton itself..........which proved to be a big mistake.

Hanabi fell to her rear when the entire area trembled all of a sudden. Shocked and confused, she quickly got back up to her feet and readied her weapon. Hanabi was very nervous now, not sure what exactly was going on.

Then, she felt it. Hot air blew towards her, as if something huge just breathed down her neck. A chill ran down Hanabi's neck as she slowly turned around and face the skull once again. She saw that in place of dark emptiness that was supposed to be in the eye sockets of the wolf's skull, she saw red glowing red eyes like burning coal staring down at her hungrily.

Letting out a frightful scream, Hanabi immediately bolted away. She climbed out of the pit but her dash stopped immediately when she saw that many wolves were waiting for her on top of the pit.

The girl looked around frantically only to learn one thing. She was surrounded.

\---X---

Saya looked at Alice with distrust and uncertainty, oblivious to the slight sting Alice felt from the negativity the Sai'ore showed towards her. Still the demon put on her usual playful face and spoke, "Oh, Don't be so mean. I just saved your life and yet you give me that awful look." Her tone sounded hurt.

Whether it was mock or genuine, fate knows. But the sensual pout which followed after made Saya blush up storm and look away.

This was one key difference Alice noticed within Saya. Even since she had bitten and drank the taller woman's blood, Saya was far more expressive and bashful towards her and Alice was loving every second of it.

Cursing in her own tongue, Saya took a hold of the offending Javelin that was still stuck on her back and yanked it out. The wound healed instantly, something Alice was still getting used to.

After that Saya was about to focus on Ruby but she felt Alice's presence right behind her. But before Alice was able to do whatever she was about to do, Saya lashed out and held Alice's wrist. In blink of an eye Alice found herself backed against a tree, with a sword held against her throat. Alice was now totally under Saya's mercy.

Although Saya's face was stern and cold, it didn't really reach all the way up to her eyes. Her eyes were more conflicted then cold.

All because of the bite.

As a Sai'ore, Saya's instincts were hardwired to be protective of the one who marks her. Her race had always been an emotional one and the bonds they shared were very deep. Thus, it felt 'wrong' to harm Alice.

Her hesitation was sensed by Alice miles ago. The demoness smiled victoriously at this. Now since she had this leverage over Saya, it was her perfect chance to work her magic. Looking at Saya in her eyes, Alice spoke softly, "Well, aren't you gonna finish it?"

Saya felt it once again. The sudden wave of allure that she was barely able to resist. Alice had done it once again; she had tried to bewitch her!

Anger spiked within Saya and she pressed her sword against Alice more firmly, enough to actually draw a little blood. Just because Saya didn't felt like it doesn't mean she is incapable to and she wanted to make it perfectly clear. This shocked Alice to end for even when Saya was positively attracted to her; the demoness just couldn't enchant her.

"Enough games, Kari. What do you want?" Saya hissed coldly, which sent shivers of fear and anticipation down Alice.

"Well, we wanted to capture you but when you hit a sore spot, I decided to lend a hand......For........ You know- fair fight." answered Alice truthfully. (Or as truthfully as possible)

Knowing that this was probably the only thing closest to truth that she could get, Saya let go of Alice. The demon queen gasped for air and nursed her slightly bleeding neck.

Regret filled Saya immediately. Involuntarily she inspected Alice's wound, caressing her with the tenderness reserved only for a lover.

The unsuspected contact's tenderness baffled Alice to no end. One moment Saya is all shy and than in the other she is ready to chop her into pieces and now again she was all googly eyes. It really started to freak out Alice. Yet still, as real was her anger; the nature of her touch was genuine as well.................. and it was surprisingly soothing. They met eyes for a while and the concern that Saya held in her eyes was overwhelming for Alice.

It made Alice's stomach do flip-flop as a warm sensation grew inside her. The queen's legs were getting weaker and her usually pale cheeks were also getting redder.

She had no idea what was happening but Alice couldn't take it. She was used to scorn and hate, not concern and love. It scared her, it overwhelmed her.

Slowly she faced away from Saya, "This is not a favour, Darling. But a mere debt. I suggest you move soon." With that Alice unfolded her wings and flew away.

Saya looked at the Demon queens flying figure till it disappeared amongst the dense canopy of the forest. Leaving both of them emotionally fatigued. Alice not being able to accept what was going on with herself and Saya unable to control her own heart.

Oh, well. She had more important works right now. Like a certain little red hood.

\---X---

Hanabi avoided a wolf that had lunged towards her and rolled out of the way of another attack. Another wolf pounced at her, pinning her down. It bit her arm but luckily her arm guard prevented it from totally tearing into her flesh. Pulling out a kunai, she stabbed it eye. The wolf yelped in pain and jumped away.

However, more wolves were now closing on her. They were in great numbers but Hanabi remembered one thing. The one thing she had forgotten during the thrill of being chased. She excels in group fight.

A wide grin stretched on her mask covered lips as Hanabi unsealed Higanbana, "Let me show you some fireworks!" Hanabi yelled and hurled the chakram towards the pack of wolves, unleashing her most powerful attack. It shocked and scared the animals. Causing disarray to their numbers.

Hanabi then hurled explosive kunai's at them as well, cutting their numbers even more and because Saya's training, she was faster and stronger; her attacks more powerful and frequent. Just like I said, she excels in group fight.

However, everyone has a weakness.

Hanabi yelped in surprise when one of the wolves sneaked up on her from behind and pinned her down.

This was Hanabi's weakness. She excels in group fight, so long as she is protected and doesn't have to make direct contact, something Saya was still to help Hanabi improve.

The wolf bit the unguarded part of Hanabi's arm, causing her to scream in pain. The wolf was going to go for her throat but before that could happen.

Another howl resonated throughout the area. This one was different as it actually agitated the rest of the wolves. Soon a figure jumped from the darkness of the forest and tackled the wolf on top of Hanabi away.

The girl watched in shock and horror as the figure that saved her was a wolf as well.

But still, this one was different.

Although hunched, its anthropomorphic form was unmistakable. Standing on its hind limbs in a hunched position, there was really no mistaking. The stories were true. This was no ordinary wolf, but a Werewolf.

It let out a blood chilling howl and shred the other wolf to pieces. Still it wasn't done. With a roar, the werewolf charged towards the other wolves, which in turn roared back in challenge and attacked as well. It was a bloody battle.

Hanabi held her bleeding arm. The wound was deeper then she expected. The loss of blood made her drowsy. She could feel her consciousness slipping her. The last thing Hanabi saw was a pair of glowing golden eyes........................


	16. The old Wounds

Now that the incident with Alice was over, Saya was now free to give her full attention to the downed little girl who was still out cold. This worried the Sai'ore for she was not sure just how the tranquilizer was affecting the girl. It was clear that whatever dose she was given, it was far too much for her body to handle. That explains why Ruby was still unconscious even after all the ordeals that they went through.

This was bad because this may very well mean that the quantity of anaesthetic was lethal. But this was luckily not the case as young girl was still breathing, abet even if it was much slower than Saya's liking.

Her body was also relatively unharmed as Saya had made sure that she herself had cushioned all the attacks thrown at them, so that was a bit of relief on her shoulders. But the same couldn't be said about the other girl that was the part of their small group.

Saya had no idea where Hanabi was and this thought scared her. Hell it was selfish but the Sai'ore was more worried about her human ninja girl than anything else right. The sun was setting and Saya absolutely hated to idea of Hanabi being along in the Dark forest after the dark.

So wasting no time, Saya carried Ruby on her back and went out to search for her student. Knowing Hanabi, she must've chased after Saya after she had fallen from the bridge. Hopefully if Saya was to travel up river, she might intercept Hanabi on the way.

The empress hoped against hope that Hanabi had did just that because the girl had a very-very bad sense of direction and would likely get lost the moment she strays from the path.

She was very worried for Hanabi's well being. The very thought to something happening to her sent waves of absolute dread down Saya's being. She couldn't lose her too, not after all that she held dear was already taken away from her. She could not and she was determined that she will not.

_'Please be safe, meha Neha.'_

\---X---

The world of the living greeted her once again. Hanabi groggily opened her eyes and rubbed away all the sleep that was left in her. She was still dazed and was trying to make out the head and tails of the situation she was currently in. Memories flooded back to her and Hanabi immediately sat up.

She remembers now, the pack of wolves. The wolf who was about to bite her head off and ...........................The Werewolf.

It was then Hanabi realized another thing, she was no longer back in the forest but inside what seemed like a log cabin. Till now she had been sleeping on a bed filled with pelts of different animals. It was warm and cosy if one was to ignore the strange wet-dog-like smell from the bed. Hanabi's arm was bandaged and all in all, she was in quite good condition.

Then she looked around the cabin. It was small, with only one room, a single door and a window. A fire place and heads of different animal's mounted on the wall, mostly wolves for display.

_'A hunter's cabin.'_

She looked out of the window and saw that the sun had already set and Hanabi realized that Saya must be worried sick for her. It then hit her like a mountain.

_'Saya!'_

The very thought of the older woman in peril made Hanabi's stomach turn. She had to find her at once. The kunoichi was about to leap out of the bed but she halted when she heard heavy steps coming from outside the door. Not knowing what to do, Hanabi got back to the bed and pretended to fall asleep.

The door was flung open as something huge lumbered into the room. Hanabi didn't dare to turn around but she could hear deep breaths and low growl coming from the figure, proving that whoever it was, it was not a human. The figure dropped something heavy of the ground with a thud. Then Hanabi saw something dreadful. She saw the shadow of the figure due to the fire place that was illuminating the room and her blood went cold when she learned that the shadow was that of a werewolf.

It reared back and stood on its hind-limbs. Slowly its shape started to shift as sounds of bones snapping and rearranging filled the room. It looked painful but the werewolf didn't let out a single yelp of pain as if it was used to the pain. Soon the shape of shadow turned more and more man like till it was clear that the werewolf was actually reverting back to its human form.

The figure then bent down and picked up an article from the ground and put to around his body.

"I know you're awake. Smelled your fear miles ago." his deep voice vibrated throughout the cabin.

Hanabi gulped and slowly sat up to face the werewolf. But to her surprise, she didn't saw a wolf before her, but a man. He looked old, about forty with streaks of grey hair on his head and beard. He was heavily built, reaching about six feet tall. His attire consisted of dark brown trousers and thick boots. A worn out yellow jack. His chest was exposed, boldly showing the three deep claw marks he had on his chest. Then there were his eyes. They were a brilliant shade of gold with an almost predatory look in them and right now, they held and un-amused look in them.

The young teenage girl mustered a meek smile (her mask is down by the way), "Uh.....Konichiwa?"

\---X---

Moskov would always watch the moon on nights like these, thinking about just how much his life had changed since the fateful day so long ago.

He remembers the days when he would be out with his fellow tribesmen to hunt for games under the light of the full moon in the vast grasslands of Heitala. A place that was once his own. A place that was once called home. But that was ages ago. His tribe was no more, so were the wrong doers who had dared to wrong him. But still, there was now this emptiness that he just couldn't fill.

The spear of Quiescence sighed to himself, as he pondered on what he had did till now, and was it all worth it. Abyss had made him powerful; it gave him strength to have his revenge against his enemies, but still was it all worth it?

Was his humanity worth the sacrifice he had made?

For the revenge he had sought out for so long?

It mattered not now, it was done anyways. He couldn't go back. The humans would never accept him. The abyss was not good either for no matter what he did, no matter how much he proved himself; he was still an impure. A Half-breed. But at least they tolerated his presence.

Yet, still. He longed for the kin-ship he had once shared with his tribe. To have a family, to truly belong. Alas it was but a wishful thought. Moskov knew this, thus he had accepted this. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why he had longed for peace for so long.

Shaking his head, Moskov tried to keep his mind of the current task at hand. He didn't care what his queen Alice said, but he was pretty sure that their target was not at the direction where she had pointed them at.

He didn't pointed this out however for he respected the Queen too much to actually openly contradict her, but that didn't meant that Alice's lie was true. They had been searching the forest above the waterfall as per Alice's orders for hours now and still now sign of the Zeno.

"I'm sorry my Queen. We couldn't find her." Moskov reported to Alice with a low bow.

"Is this so.....Hm." she answered almost uncaringly. It was clear that she was not entirely into the work they were doing right now. Right now she was........distant.

Suddenly they heard movements form the bushed besides them, putting them all on the edge. But soon to their relief, it was none other than Balmond and his group of orcs. Moskov as finally hoping some good news but he soon learned that the situation was not good.

The first thing they noticed was the fact that most of the Orc were injured and were currently being treated with first aids by the remaining of the Abyssal forces. Their numbers were also down to only half of their previous number, which worried him greatly.

"What happened?" Moskov asked to the orc chief, who was currently being bandaged by a creep. The berserker hissed as the antiseptic liquid stung his wounds but he replied nonetheless. "The foolhardy human lead us straight towards a wolf pack. Bigger than any wolves I've seen. They slaughtered my men."

Alice came over as well by now, "What of the human?"

The Orc seemed even angrier by the Demon queen's presence. Balmond spat venomously, "Screw the human! My people are done. You are on your own now!" he yelled and stood up heatedly. It looked like he would've attacked Alice at any moment by now, thus Moskov readied his spear just in case things went south. But Alice was not at all fazed by his outburst. In Fact she was actually laughing at his threats, "Silly little Orc. Fine, your service is no longer needed for now anyways. Besides..." the Queen looked up at the full moon. To everyone's surprise, the moon was slowly turning blood red. A wicked smile appeared on her face at this as a huge wolf howl was heard throughout the forest, "I have an even bigger plan."

\---x---

Finally Saya was making some progress; she had found some tracks on the forest floor. By the size of it, Saya was certain that it belonged to Hanabi. However the countless other tracks that were following Hanab's tracks worried her. It seemed that the orcs had followed Hanabi and she must've run deeper into the woods. Saya didn't delay any further and went after the tracks.

Night had fallen and Saya was even more worried. It was very dark by now and had it not been for her own Sai'oren physiology, she would've been practically blinded. (Sai'ore had lived over ten generations as underground dwellers and had therefore developed a kind of night vision, Saya was no different)

It was clear that all the way, Hanabi had fought many times. Kunais and orc bodies littered many places of the forest. She must be getting closer, so Saya pressed her advance even more.

Occasionally Ruby would stir in her sleep, mumbling indescribable words now and then. Saya could however pick one word amongst all the gibberish Ruby would mumble in her sleep.

"Roger.....please don't go."

Her voice was soft and so fragile. It was filled with pain and sadness that it made Saya's heart ache for the little girl. However that stopped when she heard a low growl from the forest. Alerted immediately, Saya's eyes darted towards the darkness of the forest and saw several pairs of glowing eyes in the darkness. Wolves, she believed that was exactly what Hanabi called them.

Far smaller than Vor'anaks but with almost identical behaviours. Convergent evolution is indeed a very interesting coincident.

Saya was about to unsheathe her sword, but her attention was drawn towards Ruby all of a sudden. She had no idea why, Ruby was now sweating and shivering preposterously at her back. She was constantly calling out for Roger and also calling out for her grandparents. She was having a panic attack. A clear case of PTSD and that also in the most unfavourable of the situations.

Saya had no idea what happened by she assumed that the wolves growls must've triggered some extremely painful memories within Ruby, thus she was reacting this way. Saya was now in a very-very bad situation. The wolves were slowly advancing towards them and she had a hyperventilating PTSD patient on her back that she was trying to calm down.

Acting quick, Saya took out a small torch from her bag and lit it with fire. She was lucky that her supplies were not entirely wet so she was able to light the torch so quickly. Now armed with flame Saya used to keep the predators at bay. Any animal, unless specific will always try to avoid fire and Saya was able to use that to her advantage. The Wolves were now more hesitant to approach her position; so long as she has the torch Saya had an advantage. But it only served to keep the wolves at bay and not chase them away.

"I don't have time for this."

She showed her fangs at the wolves, she stood brave and tall; trying to look as imposing as possible. Still it did very little to actually scare them and right now, Saya really wished she was a Eun'ra and not a Sai'ore. Those tailed people of Siraya would've sent these wolves running for the hills with a single roar.

Growing bolder with each attempts, the wolves circled Saya and Ruby. She could count up to fifteen wolves around her and that was not counting the ones which were most likely hiding in the forest. They barked and growled, sometimes even charged at Saya but she was still able to hold her ground, but how long till they really attacked?

Her questioned was answered soon.

The wolves charged towards her all at once, which meant Saya would not be able to focus on just one of them. She hit one of the wolf which had pounced on her with her sword and used her torch to burn the muzzle of another wolf that was getting to close to her, sending it whimpering away.

A third wolf tried to jump on top of her but Saya was quick on her feet and dodged its attempt to pin her down. Without hesitating, Saya buried her sword in its skull and it fell on the ground limp and lifeless. Now the wolves were more cautious of her for she had proved that she was not going down without a fight.

Saya's ears perked up when she heard some movement from behind her. But this time, she was too late to act. One of the wolves had managed to sneak up on her and when she heard it, the wolf was already too close. It rammed her away and Ruby was successfully thrown off her back and on to the ground.

"No!" yelled Saya and trying to reach the human girl but the rest of the wolves cut her off from the little girl. She had no other choice; she would have to fight her way through.

A single wolf amongst the pack thought that the unconscious girl would be an easy prey so it stalked towards Ruby's downed figure. Perhaps it was fates twisted nature that it chose that this would be the perfect time for the effects of the sleep dart to wear off. Ruby stirred awake and the first thing that greeted her was a hungry wolf looking down on her with cruel eyes.

Saya's heart dropped when she heard the terrified scream of Ruby, it urged her to fight even harder just so she could reach to the girl as fast as she could. But then again......... pained wails of a dying wolf followed soon after.

She watched with an astonished face that it was actually the wolf that was in agony. Its gut had been split open and the dying animal was trying to claw away from there. However a curved blade of a scythe dug right in between its eyes, ending its life instantly. Saya was shocked to see that it was none other than Ruby, who had killed the wolf with her scythe. But the little girl was not done. She then stabbed is back... again and again and again........all the while giggling like a lunatic.

Such display of brutality unnerved Saya as well as the wolves, which were both shocked and angered at the fate of their kin.

Seemingly satisfied after the wolf was nothing more than a red mesh of flesh and gore, Ruby let out a loud howl, "Awoooooo!"

The wolves took it was a challenge and all of them charged towards the girl. Saya was really concerned for Ruby but she soon realized that her concern was unnecessary.

Ruby danced around the wolves while killing them with systematic precision that was both very effective and unnecessarily brutal. She hacked and slashed her way through the wolves with barbaric cruelty, the crazed smile and glee in her almost baby like eyes. It was disturbing. It was not normal. It was not sane. It was as if she herself was possessed by something. A crazy wolf in a little girl's hide. Saya was now more worried about the wolves then the little girl.

The ruthless and merciless onslaught of the red hood was too much for the wolves. The girl was able to do one thing that not even the biggest of humans could do, induce fear in them. They knew of the danger and the helplessness of the situation. The pack of wolves had no other choice but to flee.

"I'm not done!" yelled Ruby and was about to give a chase but someone held her back by her shoulder and spoke sternly, "That's enough. Miss. Ruby."

But Ruby was not clearly herself right now, thus she was unwilling to listen to anything right now. Growling in annoyance, she slashed her scythe towards the one who offended her, what she had not expected was her scythe to easily pierce through Saya's clothe and dig right in her flesh. This immediately brought Ruby back to her senses as she realized the blunder she had just done. Her grip around the scythe loosened and she backed away, "I-I.....I didn't mean too."

Saya merely sighed and ripped the scythe out of her abdomen, ignoring Ruby's horrified look when she saw the older woman's wounds heal instantly, "I suggest you control yourself. Miss. Ruby. Come we still have to find Hanabi."

The Ex-empress handed the scythe back to Ruby and picked the torch that had been left on the ground but luckily not extinguished. Ruby followed the woman wordlessly.

\---X---

Hanabi was seated on the bed, all the while nervously nibbling on the roasted piece of meat that the man had given her to eat. The said man was still poking the rest of the meat with a metal rod that he was cooking over the fire in the fire place. His back was turned towards her so Hanabi was not able to see his face, but his body language made it clear that he was not exactly pleased with her presence.

After what felt like eternity the man growled lowly, "Do you have any idea what you have just done?"

His tone sent waves of fear down Hanabi's being. Gulping nervously she answered after mustering up much courage, "Uh....no?"

The hunter turned back and looked directly in her eyes, causing her to let out a terrified squeak and hide her face behind the meat she was holding. Seriously, werewolf-turned-human was a very intimidating figure. Seeing her terrified expression, the hunter turned the other way, not willing to scare her more then she already was. He let out a sigh and explained, "Your stunt back in the forest nearly cost me my life. Just how careless can you be?"

His words offended Hanabi so much that she actually forgot her previous fear and blurted out angrily, "Well excuse me if I was trying to save myself from a hoard of Orcs after my blood."

Her outburst didn't amuse the man and he gave her a deadpan look, "And I am to believe that was the reason why you decided to release the White tooth?"

His words confused Hanabi. It was clear that she was totally clueless about this for her expression said it all. "What?"

"You don't know do you." The hunter spoke lowly with ominous voice. Hanabi was now slowly losing her patients and snapped, "How am I supposed to know? I just got here today!"

The man sighed in expiration at this and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I cannot believe the kids these days....." he turned back and poked meat once again, "The pit you had fallen down was the resting place of the cursed wolf White tooth. For centuries it had been terrorizing this forest until I had put it down for good."

This story sounded very familiar to Hanabi for some reason, "You wouldn't happen to be the great hunter Roger would you?" she asked uncertainly.

The man snorted at this, "That's what I was called once." Causing Hanabi's eyes to widened in realization. "You're the one who abandoned the Old Wood Town!" she pointed an accusing finger towards Roger. But the man didn't take kindly to this and immediately pulled out a freaking six barrelled revolver from his coat and pointed it at Hanabi, "Choose your next words wisely, Kid." He growled dangerously.

Shaking in fear Hanabi raised both of her hands in surrender. "S-sorry." Satisfied that his point was clear, Roger put his gun away and still continued his story, "As I was saying, I killed the White Tooth, but....... I was not able to totally eradicate its sprit. It stayed back in the forest, waiting to be awakened once again to wreck havoc in the land."

Roger slowly stood up and walked over to Hanabi, his eyes boring down on her like and angry wolf as he growled, "I had been in this forest of the past fifteen years to stop that from happening and now, you came along and resurrected the White tooth. Now he is back and more powerful than ever!"

Hanabi was now sweating preposterously at this. Roger was looking down at her with glowing eyes of barely contained rage and she was feeling like a small rabbit before an angry wolf. Her curiosity had cost her and she had screwed up big this time.

_'Saya-chan is going to kill me!'_

This thought caused Hanabi to pause for a bit. Now remembers a very curtail information. "Saya!" she spoke out aloud, startling even Roger. "By the gods, Kid. You crazy or something?"

"No time, Saya-chan and Ruby-gaki are still in danger!" with that Hanabi immediately got out of the bed, totally not noticing the stunned look on Roger's face on mention of the name Ruby.

"Ruby? As in the red hood Ruby?" he asked lowly.

"Yes. We were here on a job but got separated. I must find them fast." The kunoichi replied hastily and prepared to leave the cabin. However, before she could open the door, Roger walked over to her and spoke with a stern voice, "I'm coming with you." It was not a request, but a statement. It left Hanabi speechless as she watched Roger exit the cabin swiftly.

Once outside, He had transformed into his wolf form and looked at Hanabi, "Get on, we will reach faster." She was not really sure about this but right now, she didn't have much choice. Hanabi obeyed but one question did appear in her mind, _'What made him tag along so quickly? Was it because of Ruby?'..................................................._


	17. The Blood moon rises

Ruby gulped nervously as she followed the seemingly Immortal elf-like woman through the forest. Ruby knew from the very beginning at the time she met her that Saya was different. She had this, different aura around her that made Ruby a bit weary, but never had she imagined that the Sai'ore she had been following was an Immortal. Shrugging off mortal wounds like that, it agitated Ruby. And the fact that Saya had still not addressed the fact that Ruby had stabbed her in the gut till now, made Ruby even more frustrated.

No words were exchanged between them as Saya followed the tracks of the other girl Hanabi. The journey was quiet and uneventful as Ruby's stunt with the wolves had scared them enough to make them not try anything with the two, but that didn't mean the tension of the situation was over.

As they went deeper into the forest, a strange chill filled the air.

This certain change in the atmosphere was not unnoticed by Saya, yet she didn't voice it out for she had more important things to do at the moment.

Suddenly a loud howl resonated throughout the forest but this one was different. Saya had no idea why but she could feel that something was very different about this wolf. Without a warning, light of the moon suddenly dimmed as its once pale white light turned blood red all of a sudden.

Saya knew that the light imitated by heavenly bodies could change its colour according to the angel form which its light is refracted but she was also one hundred percent certain that the current happening was not natural at all. Something foul was at work here and Saya had to find Hanabi quickly.

She was about to quicken her pace but halted when she heard a whimper behind her. Saya turned around to face Ruby and was very shocked to see that the young girl was hiding behind a tree. With her form curled up into a ball, she was sobbing violently. Ruby was having another one of her attacks and it worried Saya deeply. Slowly she approached the girl.

"Miss. Ruby?" Saya called softly, to which she got another whimper as a reply. Ruby was a complete emotional wreck and could even cause her to lash out like before, but still Saya knew she couldn't leave the girl in such a state. So she reached out and touched Ruby's shoulder. The red hood flinched at the touch but luckily didn't lash out. Yet still Ruby didn't response back to Saya. The older woman sighed at this. Ruby was not shutting her out. It was expectable considering they had just known each other for one day but still Saya really wanted to help her

"Please let me help you, Child." She spoke will a soft and soothing voice. For a moment Ruby nearly broke her wall, but still her will was adamant.

Saya sat down besides her. Looking up at the red sky, she stated, "The wolves. They did something to you didn't they?"

She didn't need to see Ruby's face to know that she was right. Her agitated body language made it clear for Saya. Taking a deep breath, Saya spoke further, "Let me tell you a story. A story I hadn't told for a long time..... Long ago, in a land far away; there was a small village. The people were kind and happy, living peacefully with each other. In that village lived a woman. She was but a normal woman. With a loving husband and two beautiful children. It was not much but still it was all she could've hoped for. Life was perfect..........................Until 'They' attacked."

This part of the story pulled Ruby's attention for now she was looking at Saya with full attention, "The Delsaray was a feral tribe. Making their living by raiding unprotected villages. The village where the woman lived was the most suitable target." The older woman looked down at the fire that was lit on the torch, "There was fire everywhere. Blood covered the streets as screams of the villagers filled the air. The once peaceful village was now a vision straight out of a nightmare. The woman's husband was killed while trying to save their eldest daughter. A fear like none other took a hold of the woman, so she did what any sane person would do. She scooped her remaining child in her arms and made a run for the woods. Her bare feet took her through the woods as fast as they could as she left behind everything she had known and loved. It was all gone now, except for the small child that she held in her arms............... But the Delsaray were a cruel tribe. They followed. Arrows and spears flew past her as the woman desperately tried to save the one thing that was left of her past. Praying to whomever gods that would listen for the safety of her child. Alas, that was not meant to be. A spear came soaring through the air and pierced the woman's back. It tore right through her body and reached the child as well. Her eyes widened in shock as she just stared at her child. The light form their eyes slowly fading away, till both of them dropped lifelessly on the cold forest ground."

Ruby noticed how the older woman took another breath to calm her nerves before continuing, "Several hours later. A miracle happened. The woman...... She suddenly woke up. The spear was still embedded inside her body, but she was still alive. With great effort, she pulled out the spear from her body and her wounds healed at a blink of an eye. It was as if she couldn't die. Yet she didn't laugh in joy for she still held her deceased child in her arms. The child was so young, barely two winters old. Such a young and innocent life and it was taken away so cruelly. It tore the woman's heart........Her child was dead and yet she would live on. It was so cruel. The world was so cruel. Soon her wails of agony filled the forest as the woman wept for her dead child which she still held in her arms."

Saya looked at her hands longingly as she spoke further, "That child was the last remnant of whatever that was left of her old world. A world that was now gone. A world that now lay in ashes. But form those ashes something raised. A new person, a new fire that would consume all. Rage like no other filled her being. She was angry at the Delsaray for killing her family, she was angry at the gods for not showing mercy and mostly importantly, she was angry that she was still alive and her sweet little child was not. Thus the once common woman was reborn a monster. Her anger was deep, her scorn was too powerful. She hunted down the Delsaray who had destroyed her family. But the retribution was not enough. It was not enough to put out the inferno of anger and despair that had ignited within her. Soon the flames of her agony burnt more than anyone could've imagined."

"So many lost their lives. So many families were destroyed, yet still it was not enough. Rage had blinded her and since she couldn't die, no one could stop her. She slaughtered. Village after village, town after town, it was a blood bath with the woman on the top of it, all with the excuse of her slaughtered family."

Saya rubbed her eyes at this; the guilt in her voice was obvious which made Ruby wonder who exactly the woman in the story was. She had an idea who it could be but still kept quiet about it. "Anger is a very strong emotion. If it controls you, it will make you blind and make you do things that you would regret. And when you do come to your senses, it would be too late." The Sai'ore closed her eyes, thinking about her long forgotten past. This story was millenniums old, yet still every time she says it; Saya could almost see all the faces of the victims she had claimed so long ago. Ages have gone by since that incident yet still she remembers it like yesterday. It would still sometimes haunt her even now.

Ruby absorbed the information she had heard silently. She was not entirely sure whether Saya was genuine with her story or not but the girl had yet to detect falsehood from Saya's voice. Gulping nervously, Ruby too spoke, her voice a bit raspy from all the crying she had been doing. "I used to live with my grandparents back in Old Wood town. I was there when the wolves attacked."

Saya didn't need to be told further, she knew how such stories ended. Ruby had lost her family as well and whether she admits it or not, she was broken. Just like how she once was. She needed help, she needed comfort. The little girl was surprised when Saya put her arms around her. The hug was soft and warm. It confused Ruby to no end but Saya said soothingly, "Loosing a family is very hard. Especially for someone so young such as you. But do not let your fear and anger control you. Do not make the mistakes that I had made." Saya then looked Ruby in her eye, "because you still have your whole life before you. Do not waste if in your rage." Then a soft motherly smile graced on Saya's lips, "For no matter what, they would always live on in your heart."

Saya's words stunned Ruby. Visions of her grandfather came in her head. She remembers his last words before he dive out to save her life form the wolves, _"No matter what, I will always live on in your heart."_

Tears appeared on Ruby's eyes as they now fell down her eye. Without a warning she hugged Saya back and cried freely. Saya stroked the human girl's head and whispered comforting words to her. The poor girl needed this, for so long she had been alone. For so long she had been shunned that she had forgotten the warmth of concern and care. And now in Saya's arms, Ruby couldn't help but feel safe. She felt like a huge burden had been lifted off her back, as if a knot in her being had been opened. Perhaps it was the strangely mother-like aura Saya had. It comforted her. It soothed her.

Ruby cried her heart out and Saya was there for her patiently. She understood how much the young girl needed this and was glad that she could be of assistant. Her sobs died down and Ruby now looked Saya in the face with a worried expression, "But....what am I suppose to do now?"

Saya gave her a motherly smile and answered, "That is something you will have to find out of your own. Don't worry, child. You will find your drive eventually and when you do..... You hold on to it."

Understanding what Saya was saying, Ruby nodded with a radiant smile. It was not the hollow smile she would dish out now and then, but an actual genuine smile that she had not done in years. It felt very good. Saya matched the gesture with her own.

However, Suddenly Saya's ears perked up and she yelled, "Get down!" she held Ruby and jumped out of the way and a huge tree fell on the place they had been sitting moments ago. Both of them watched in shock and horror as more trees fell down like sack of grains. The ground shook, as if something big was walking the earth and its step were causing the entire ground to tremble. Deep growl resonated throughout the area. Saya's eyes widened when she say a colossal wolf was slowly lumbering through the forest. It let out a loud roar and continued its pace towards north.

When Saya saw Ruby's horrified expression, she was shocked. But then the little girl turned toward her and yelled, "Its going towards the town!"

Saya's breath hitched at the realization.

\---X---

Roger moved through the forest skilfully towards the direction from which he could get Ruby's scent. Hanabi was still on his back and she was trying her best not to be thrown off the werewolf's back. She held on tightly on Roger's mane as he quickened his pace. After living so long in the forest, Roger knew the place like the back on his hand and thus he was able to move so easily in such a dark and treacherous environment. Right now, he was very focused on reaching Ruby.

Hanabi had this question from the very beginning and couldn't help but ask, "Look I appreciate that you're helping me, but.....Um. Why exactly are you helping me?"

The werewolf let out an annoyed growl at this, "I ain't doing this for you, Kid."

"So Ruby then? I'm really surprised that you know that Gaki."

The Werewolf a grunt and jerked his body intentionally, causing Hanabi to nearly fall off. His message was clear, 'Shut the hell up.'

But Hanabi's persistence was legendary, or that she is just too dense to get the message. "Did something happen between you two? Was it back at the Old wood town?"

Suddenly Roger jumped in the air and did front flip, successfully sending Hanabi flying off his back and on to the ground with an "Ufff!" Roger reverted back to his human form and grumbled, "You talk too much."

The masked girl stood up and rubbed her hurting butt. Turning back at Roger she exploded, "What was that for?"

Her shrill voice hurt Roger's sensitive ears, but he answered her anyways, "Relax, we are here." He pointed behind her and Hanabi was surprised to see the huge river a couple of yards away from her. Even the town New Wood was visible beyond the river.

"We are close." Announced Roger and started walking towards the river. Hanabi tagged along, not wanting to be left behind. The walk was silent and tense but Hanabi cleared her throat and asked, "So......You're not gonna say anything?"

Roger didn't answered, which gave the perfect answer to her question. The Kunoichi sighed, "I understand that Ruby must mean a lot to you. I mean, I am worried about Saya-chan as well. She is my first and only friend and I cannot lose her...... The thing is, I understand how you feel and wanted you to know that you don't have to do this alone."

The Hunter paused at this and looked upon the teenage ninja girl. Finally he let out a sigh and spoke, "I met Ruby when she was very young. Her grandpa was a hunter too, but his age had caught up with him and when the White Tooth attacked the town, he was not in the shape to fight him. I managed to fight the beast and kill him, but not before it scratched me. I shrugged off the attack and decided to stay in the town. That had been my best decision ever."

A small smile appeared on his lips as he spoke fondly, "That Little Pup was truly something else. When most of the town feared me, she was not afraid of me. True she always bothered me but I guess she kinda grew on me. Sorta like a daughter I never had...........But I had been careless."

Roger's face turned bitter as he touched the claw marks on his chest, "The White tooth had cursed me with its blood. 'Even the purest of heart, a man who never forgets to say his prayers at night, will be unable to avoid turning into a werewolf under the full moon'."

"The full moon curse." Muttered Hanabi while Roger nodded.

"The curse of the werewolf. I couldn't control it..........I would've destroyed the very town I was to protect."

"So you left?"

Roger nodded, remembering what had happened that day.

\---X---

_Flash back-_

_"Roger, please don't go!" cried a much younger Ruby while hugging his feet. The hunter's expression softened as he scooped up the little girl in his hands, "I must go Little Pup. I cannot stay, it's for the best. Trust me."_

_"But...."_

_Roger slowly put Ruby down and ruffled her hair, "Besides, I will always be watching over you." With that he left. Trying his best to shut out Ruby's heart breaking cries, "Roger, Please don't go!"_

\---X---

"That didn't work out as the very next day a pack of wolf destroyed the town and the people had to move out of their original home." Roger spat bitterly. He was angry at himself for he had failed his promise. He had failed himself. Hanabi listened silently, not knowing what to say in a situation like this.

Suddenly the ground trembled and trees started falling down on the ground. This confused both the people there but they soon learned what the reason was.

A colossal Wolf was lumbering towards the town and both of them were looking at it with their jaws open.   
"That's the White Tooth? The hell did you kill that thing?"Hanabi asked, or rather yelled in utter panic.

"Yes, but it wasn't that big before. You really screwed up, Kid."

The Girl glared at the older man at this, but Roger suddenly perked up. He looked towards the town and sniffed a couple of times. His eyes widened in horror, "God damn it, Ruby is in the town!"

Hanabi felt a chill down her back for she knew one this was for certain, where there was Ruby; Saya was bound to be there.

\---X---

The White Tooth was slowly making its way towards the new wood town. Its twenty feet tall figure easily towering over the river as it strode purpose fully towards the town.

From far away, rest of the abyssal forces were watching with silently. None so other than Alice. _'I hope you're ready, Darling, because it's time to play 'fair'._

The colossal wolf let out a dreadful howl, which filled the night with terror and panic. The White wolf had rose and it was now out for blood........................


	18. The first howl

Somehow Ruby and Saya were able to reach the river shore before the White tooth. **(Note: - this is happening far before Roger and Hanabi reached the river shore themselves)** Since the wolf had not arrived, Saya lit a fire on the edge of the shore and waited.

As promised, the ferryman arrived after a while. He had an uncaring expression when he spoke drily, "I'm surprise that you've returned. Although the Eastern girl didn't make it I suppose. Ah, very well. Climb aboard."

His comment annoyed Saya very much, but still his word did make her more worried about Hanabi. She still had no information about her and this further planted seeds of fear inside Saya. 

Where was she?

How was she?

And the most dreaded question- Was she even alive?

These were the thoughts which clouded her mind as the ferryman rowed the boat they had currently boarded towards the town.

"I told you it was a suicide, but no one listens." The man muttered, which was like salt on the wounds. Yet Saya kept quiet for she knew that he was right. Perhaps this whole ordeal was a huge mistake and Saya couldn't help but blame herself for it. She was supposed to protect and guide Hanabi, yet she ended up losing her. Guilt swelled within her.

Sensing her distress, Ruby placed a comforting hand on Saya's shoulder. A simple gesture but it did lighten the mood a bit.

Then came the reason why Saya had to end her search for Hanabi. The White tooth burst out of the forest and let out a roar. With a huge leap, it landed on the river waters and slowly made its way towards the town.

Cursing loudly, Saya turned towards the ferryman and yelled, "Ferryman, go faster! We have to reach the town now!"

But the man stood petrified on his place. His eyes were wide as dinner plates and mouth hung open in shock and fear. Finally he gained his senses and the first thing he did was panic. "WE ARE DOOMED! THE WHITE TOOTH HAS RETURNED!!!!"

In a fit of fright, he jumped off the boat and swam all the way across toward the other side of the river, leaving Saya and Rose alone on the boat.

"Did he just abandon us?" muttered Ruby in disbelief.

The truth might be terrible but when looked rationally, the man did what most sane person would do. His survival instincts commanded him to flee and Saya would not hold it against him. But they still had work to do, so she grabbed the oars and looked at Ruby, "We must move."

\---X---

The Town of New Wood was formed by the former denizens of the town of Old wood. They had to flee their old home and make a new one at the edge of the forest which was once their home. They always feared the Dark forest and anything related to it ever since. But what they feared even more was the legend of the White Tooth. How the ancient wolf king would rise once again when the moon would be painted red as the blood and destroy the remaining people of the town.

They had believed that it was but a fairy tale. A bedtime story meant to scare naughty children who would not sleep at night. But this night was the night when it was all realized.

Under the blood red moon, the colossal wolf had arrived outside the town, its hulking form towering over most of the buildings save the chapel. The wolf let out a dreadful howl, waking up the entire town.

Alice had been waiting for this moment the entire night; she remembers the conversation she had with the beast moments after its revival.

\---X---

_Flash back:-_

_When Hanabi's blood had fallen on the Whit tooth's skeleton, it had successfully revived its sprit. But still, its body was very weak. It was not as powerful as it once was. Yet the anger and rage it felt was powerful. It remembers the Hunter and how he had defeated him. The shame he felt was immeasurable and so he wished to redeem himself by killing the hunter._

_Yet, in his current condition. He was useless. Nothing but a heap of bones, he would not be able to do anything in his current state._

_Suddenly, he felt a presence near him. The wolf looked up and saw a dark silhouette before him. The scent of blood invaded his muzzle as he growled weakly, "Blood demon."_

_"I'm surprised that you know me, Great wolf." Said Alice mirthfully as she kneeled up to the wolf's level._

_"What do you want?" the White tooth snapped._

_Alice, unfazed by the wolf's hostility giggled, "Silly little wolf. But you're right. I do want something and perhaps we could help each other."_

_"I don't need your help, Demon. Be gone!"_

_The Demon Queen narrowed her eyes at this. But still she kept her cool. A playful glint appeared in her eyes as she spoke gleefully, "Are you sure? Even when the Hunter who humiliated you walks free in this forest which is yours?"_

_This made the wolf pause. Alice knew of the effect her words had on the wolf and pressed on, "Even when the same Hunter, we now holds the blood of the wolf and claimed the lands which was rightfully yours?"_

_Her words had desired effects as the wolf roared out in rage. Looking at Alice directly in her eyes, the wolf growled, "What do you propose, Demon?"_

_"Simple, you destroy the town and lure the hunter and certain Zeno towards you. You get the hunter and we get our Zeno. Deal ?"_

_Even as a wolf, The White tooth knew that trusting a demon was a very bad idea. And right now he was making a deal with the devil, but his pride was wounded and his every instinct demanded retribution. No matter the price._

_"Deal."_

_Alice smiled and touched the wolf's bony muzzle. A great power suddenly flowed towards his body. Flesh started to re-grow on its bony frame. His body grew to enormous proportions, till he became the colossal he was right now. Thus, the White Tooth was truly reborn._

\---X---

When the giant wolf reached the town, it started to wreck havoc. The guards tried to counter this assault but this was the exact moment when the forces of the abyss chose to attack as well. Now it was a state of total chaos, with Alice in the middle of it all. A smile appeared on her lush red lips.

"All is going according to the plan."

\---X---

The two had finally been able to row their way towards the docks of the town. But soon things turned even worse than before.

Ruby stood shocked beyond words as a hoard of Abyssal forces attacked at the very moment the White Tooth decided to attack the town. They came in swift and strong. Wielding fire, they burned down houses and slaughtered the people. It was a sight out of Hell.

Saya stood with a hard face, _'So this is how I must pay my debt, Kari?'_ she thought bitterly addressing Alice in her mind. She turned to Ruby and said firmly, "We need to help the civilians. Come on!"

The little girl nodded and was about to follow the woman's lead. But then she heard the White Tooth's howl. Saya frowned as the girl shuddered violently at sound of the giant beast.

"Ruby calm yourself. I'm here, stay with me..." but the wolf howled once again and Ruby finally lost it. Letting out her own howl and bolted after the White tooth. Saya cursed loudly, but didn't go after her. She still had a duty to fulfil thus Ruby would have to fend for herself for now. Saya knew that the girl was capable of defending herself so she had no choice but to trust Ruby and pray for her safety.

As for herself, she had a town to save and it was going to be a long night.

\---X---

Roger had turned into his werewolf form and with Hanabi on his back; he swam across the river and reached towards the town. Both were equally surprised to see how bad the situation was.

"What are the Abyssal forces doing here?" yelled Roger angrily.

"I don't know but we have to help the people." Replied Hanabi. The Hunter turned Werewolf agreed. But stopped when he heard a loud howl. His eyes widened when he saw that it was the White tooth and a young girl with a huge scythe was charging after it. Roger recognised the girl immediately. "Ruby!" he yelled and bolted after her, leaving Hanabi all by herself.

"Seriously!" the kunoichi screamed angrily but Roger had already disappeared amidst the smoking ruins of the town. Hanabi grumbled angrily to herself but stopped when she heard some guttural chirpings near her. The ninja girl realized that a group of creeps had surrounded her.

"The old wolf can wait. I need some warm up." Smirked Hanabi confidently and pulled out her Higanbana. "Let the fireworks begin!"

\---X---

Ruby ran as fast as she could towards the Giant wolf. Right now her mind was clouded. Her voice of reason was gone and all that remained was blood lust. She was no longer a little girl, but a wolf in a girl's hide. And right now, she was angry.

Mowing down any resistance that she encountered **(they were all Abyssal forces),** she was now very close. The giant wolf was visible just a few buildings away and it was destroying everything in its path. Had Ruby been in her senses, she would've known that fighting such a beast was useless and suicide, but right now she was not in her senses.

With a howl, she bolted towards the wolf. To her surprise, Ruby was suddenly pinned down on the ground by something big. Soon she found out that the culprit was a huge Werewolf. Anger swelled within her as she growled at him almost animalistically. Holding her scythe, Ruby spanned twice, caused the Werewolf to back off so that he would not get cut. But the little red hood was not done. "Awoooo!" Ruby howled and attacked the wolf once again.

Roger was having a hard time. He wanted to protect Ruby form the White Wolf but it seemed she was now hell bent on shredding him to pieces. Her attacks were wild and unpredictable, just like her insane and animal like persona. She was no longer the little girl he once knew and Roger couldn't help but feel that somewhere, this was his entire fault.

It was his fault the wolves attacked Old wood town.

His fault that Ruby went insane.

For so many years he had been hiding in the woods, with the excuse that it was for the good of all the others. Yet now he had to admit, he was just running away from his past. But not now. He had enough of running. He had enough of lies. It was time to stand up and face to truth.

Ruby slashed her scythe at the werewolf, but to her surprise; the Werewolf held back the attack by its claws. He looked at her straight in the eye. Yet she didn't see any ill intent in his golden eyes. Just guilt and remorse.

"I am so sorry, Little pup. Please forgive me." The werewolf spoke with a gruff yet soft voice. His words stunned Ruby for there was only one person in the world who called her that.

"How..."

This was all the opening Roger needed. With speed not seen before, he appeared behind Ruby and karate chopped at the back of her head. It successful knocked the little girl out but didn't hurt her too much. Roger was not proud of this cowardly act but he had no other choice. He held Ruby before she fell down on the hard ground. Holding her in his arms, he took her to a safe place. Looking at her, a fondness he had not felt in decades swelled back in his heart. "This is for your own good, Little pup." He whispered to Ruby's sleeping form and placed her on top of hay stack.

With her safe and sound, Roger turned towards this main target; The White Tooth. Growling aggressively, Roger dashed towards the Giant wolf. Tonight, only one wolf shall remain.

\---X---

Hanabi was able to dispatch the creeps with ease. It was almost too easy for her, but then again she spoke too soon. The group of creeps suddenly made way as one of their elite warrior lumbered towards the battle ground. Hanabi was surprised to see that it was a tall Lizardman and he was armed with a trident **(The lizard buff on top lane which gives health)** It hissed at her and charged.

The Ninja girl hurriedly dodged its attack quickly threw kunai at him but the Lizardman's hide was too thick and the attack bounced off harmlessly. So ranged attacks were useless.

"Kuso!" Hanabi cursed audibly and avoided yet another attack. The Lizardman thrusted his trident towards the human girl and Hanabi danced around the attack skilfully. Now she was in close quarters, which was one of her worst cases. But that would be true if she was the old Hanabi because now, she wasn't entirely defenceless as before. Using the teachings of Saya, Hanabi jabbed the Lizard in the chest with her fist. The strength behind the attack surprised the Lizardman as he actually felt the attack through his hide!

But Hanabi was not done yet because when the Saurian was staggered, she used all of her strength to elbow strike the Lizardman right in the face. Now this attack successfully dazed the creature as it backed away and held its muzzle in pain. Seeing her chance, Hanabi tired to do the one thing Saya had always taught her to do if you were fighting unarmed.

Disarm the opponent.

Hanabi held the Lizardman's trident firmly and tried to yank it away. Sadly, Hanabi overestimated herself and underestimated the Saurian's strength. Understanding the Human's play, the Lizardman yanked the trident out of Hanabi's reach and kicked her away. She was sent soaring through the air and hit a wall, such was the difference in strength between them.

The Lizardman flexed its shoulder and leaped up in the air intending to impale Hanabi while she was down. Acting quickly, Hanabi rolled out of the way just in time as the trident got embedded on the place she had been laying moments ago. The Lizardman would've yanked out the trident form the ground but stopped when they heard a loud neigh.

To everyone's surprise, a black horse was galloping straight towards them and it looked pissed. The Lizard was now panicking and trying to pull out his trident. But Hanabi suddenly latched on to the weapon with all her might, successfully grounding the Lizardman on that place. The Saurian looked at her in disbelief and yelled, "The Hell? Let go!"

But it was too late, the horse was already on to him and it horse kicked him in the chest with both of its hind limbs. The kick was powerful enough to cave the Lizardman's chest in as the Saurian was sent flying away before falling on the ground lifelessly. The rest of the creeps look with a flabbergasted expression. The horse then looked upon all the creeps and gave a glare that was unexpectedly very scary. The creeps squeaked in terror and they scurried away in fear.

Hanabi was really surprised and confused at this. Last time she checked, Nhari **(As Saya had named her horse)** absolutely hated her guts. Which was true as the horse turned towards her and gave her a glare with equal furiosity. The girl gulped nervously as the horse really freaked her out. Still she expressed her gratitude, "Um...Thank you."

The horse huffed and let out a loud snort. As if saying, "Just because I saved you doesn't mean I like you."

The kunoichi stood up and dusted herself. Then she asked again, "Do you know where Saya is?"

Nhari nodded and pointed towards the middle of the town with her head. Wasting no time, Hanabi moved towards that direction, "Let's go then."

\---X---

Saya had been very busy. Gathering a small group of guards to her aid, she had been evacuating the town. All the while fighting off all the forces of the Abyss that was trying to get an upper hand of them. Her bow was coming very handy for now she was able to inflict damage from a distance as well.

"Just how many of these creatures are there." Mumbled Saya as she shot down dozens of creeps with her bow. The guards were leading the citizen away from the carnage and Saya had to holding the enemies off for a while. Turning towards a Guard, Saya ordered firmly, "Take the people away from the town, I will hold them off."

"Right away, Ma'am." The guard acknowledged and lead the others away. Saya then quickly climbed a roof top of a building and used the elevated vantage point to the fullest. Arrow after arrow soared through the air and met the intended target with almost flawless accuracy. Saya may not be as fast as she used to be with a bow but she was still very accurate with the outdated weapon.

This went on till her quiver was empty. Grumbling in annoyance, Saya was about to look for another set of arrows. Until a familiar voice called sweetly, "Did you miss me, Darling?"

Saya groaned and looked at Alice who was hovering over the building.

"Let me guess...... This is the part where we trade blows?" the Sai'ore scoffed.

"Not quite, Darling. I just want to see you." Alice spoke sweetly.

Saya frowned at this, "Your methods are extreme, Kari. The town's people were innocent."

"Oh save me the guilt trip, Darling. I don't roll that way....But you might want to be careful now." With that Alice flew away and left Saya confused a lot. The ground trembled all of a sudden and it was then Saya noticed the Hulking form of the colossal wolf lumber through the town. She had completely forgotten about the wolf and thus she leaped off the rooftop and ran towards the wolf. She had no idea how to stop the wolf but she would have to try something.

However, in her thoughts she was not looking where she was going and in her carelessness, she ran into someone. Due to her tall structure and firm footing, Saya was able to hold her ground and not fall on her ass. The other person was not so lucky.

"Ouch." The person she ran into groaned in pain. Imagine Saya's shock when she realized it was none other than Hanabi. When Hanabi realized that she had ran into Saya herself , she was speechless. Joy exploded with her being as she exclaimed, "Saya-chan!"

The ninja girl immediately stood up, but suddenly her bright mood turned sour. Seething in anger, Hanabi exploded in anger, "How could you just leave me back in the forest! I was so worried for you! What if something happened to you! You Baka! Do you have any idea how scared I was!" and thus she kept on yelling at Saya, all the while punching her shoulder.

Hanabi was angry, she was frustrated. Yet masked behind the thorny exterior, concern was crystal clear behind her every word. Saya wrapped her arms around her.

The ninja girl stopped her tantrum at this. The warmth of Saya's arms instantly filled her with the sense of overwhelming security. Relief brewed within her and Hanabi could hold it no longer. She hugged back the older woman and spoke weakly, almost on the verge of breaking down, "Don't scare me like that, Saya-chan. You are my only friend. I don't want to lose you."

Hanabi's voice made Saya's heart grow heavy with guilt. But it also filled her with a sensation of absolute joy and bliss. With also a feeling she had not felt for a long time, Love. Saya's cheeks heated up at this thought. Lifting Hanabi's face by her chin, Saya looked at her straight in her ocean blue eyes. Cupping Hanabi's face tenderly, Saya spoke softly to Hanabi, "I will never leave you again, meha Neha."

A strange warmth spread across Hanabi at Saya's words. The way she spoke it, the words had such determination and passion in it that it actually made Hanabi's cheeks red as tomato. Luckily her face mask hide the blush for her, but that didn't stop her from turning away bashfully, "You better, Baka."

Saya giggled sweetly at this, the sudden touch of femininity from the woman caused Hanabi's stomach to do flip-flops. Unknown to either of them, a jealous Demon queen had been observing them with a sour face.

Suddenly a loud snort interrupted their reunion. Both of them turned and saw that it was none other the Nhari and the old war horse was giving them an un-amused look. Saya let go of Hanabi and cooed, "Aw, I would never forget about my best girl!"

This instantly melted the stoic horse's heart and it trotted gleefully towards Saya's awaiting arms. Hanabi gave them a weird look, concerned at Saya's fondness of the horse. And maybe, tiny bit jealous of the attention Nhari was getting.

"Are you quite done now?" a new gruff voice spoke.

Saya immediately pulled out her sword and pointed at the new comer. While Nhari was stomping her hooves aggressively. However when Hanabi realized who the newcomer was, she immediately stepped in, "Wait guys! This is the hunter Roger. He is a friend!"

The Sai'ore raised her brow at the werewolf but if Hanabi trusted this beast then Saya would stay her hand for now. Nhari was not convinced however. Unconcerned about their distrust, Roger came straight to the point, "We need to stop the White Tooth."

"Nobel objective Mr. Roger. But how exactly are we going to do this?"

The werewolf shook his head at this, "I don't know. The Wolf is too big to be damaged by conventional weapons. Any ideas?"

All the while Hanabi had been staring at a far off town chapel. It was the only building which was taller than the giant wolf. The chapel was old with a huge bell on top that was made wholly of metal. "Guys, I think I have an idea."

Saya already didn't like the idea...................


	19. Dancing with the monster

The White Tooth may not like the Demon Queen but even he had to admit, the power he felt was good. His form was hulking, his body almost invincible and his size made any attempts to harm him absolutely useless. He destroyed everything in his path, buildings were destroyed like decks of cards and guards were crushed like weak insects. Indeed the sensation was intoxicating.

Suddenly a familiar scent invaded his nose and the wolf growled. He turned towards the direction of the smell and found a werewolf standing on top of a house. Although the hide was different, The White Tooth knew exactly who the werewolf was, "Look who it is, The Great Hunter decides to show himself."

Roger growled angrily at this and barked, "Your beef is with me White Tooth, leave this town alone!"

The Giant wolf let out an amused laugh at this, "You dare command me, Pest? I am the ancient wolf king and I am more powerful than ever! No one can command me. Now I shall have my revenge!"

With that the Giant wolf dashed towards Roger's direction. The werewolf immediately jumped to another roof and took off towards his designated area with a Giant Wolf hot on his tail.

"Get back here coward!" the wolf howled and Roger had to admit, for something that big, the wolf was damn fast. It destroyed several buildings on its pursuit of the werewolf as if they were nothing. The sheer power this wolf now possessed made Roger weary. He just hoped that Hanabi's plan would work.

\---X---

"I'm still not sure about this plan, Neha." Saya addressed her concern as she and Hanabi made their way towards the town's chapel.

"I'm not sure either. But do we have a better idea?" replied Hanabi with an annoyed voice. Her argument was sound thus Saya didn't say much. They fought their way through waves of abyssal forces and finally reached the chapel. But now they faced a new obstacle.

"Kuso, The chapel door is sealed!" Hanabi cursed in frustration.

For their plan to work they had to be on top of the chapel and as Hanabi stated, the door was locked. Saya frowned and placed her hand of the huge wooden door. It was ten feet tall and made of solid timber; she wouldn't be able to break it down. Hanabi's explosive kunai could've done the trick but she only had a few explosives left and Hanabi needed those for her plan.

"What do we do now?" asked Hanabi and looked at Saya for advice. The older woman looked up to the top of the chapel, estimating that it would roughly be about forty feet tall. A new idea appeared in Saya's mind.

"Perhaps.....We can." She muttered to herself. Hanabi was confused at this and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Saya then turned right towards her and spoke with upmost seriousness, "Can you climb?" Hanabi's eyes nearly popped out of her sockets, "Ehh?"

\---X---

_"Roger, please don't go!" cried a much younger Ruby while hugging his feet. The hunter's expression softened as he scooped up the little girl in his hands, "I must go Little Pup. I cannot stay, it's for the best. Trust me."_

_"But...."_

_Roger slowly put Ruby down and ruffled her hair, "Besides, I will always be watching over you." With that he left. Trying his best to shut out Ruby's heart breaking cries, "Roger, Please don't go!"_

\---X---

Ruby gasped heavily as the world of the living greeted her once again. A sudden attack of a violent headache caused her to groan loudly and hold her head in pain.

_'That dream.......I hadn't had it in a long time.'_

The girl looked around her and found that she had been sleeping on a pile of hay. She slowly gathered back her bearings and a realization hit her, "That strange wolf."

She remembers now. The werewolf who talked to her. Ruby had no idea why but the wolf seemed so familiar to her, "Could it be.....No. He had left me."

Then Ruby heard a loud howl not so far away. She learned that it was none other than the White Tooth and it seemed to be chasing something. The red hood quickly learned what exactly was the wolf chasing and immediately sprung up to her feet. Ruby wanted answers, thus she went out to find it. No Matter the cost.

\---X---

Roger avoided yet another stomp that was meant to turn him into a paste and continued his way by the roof tops. Unknown to the White Tooth, the Hunter had been leading the wolf towards the chapel.

_'I hope you know what you're doing, Kid.'_ Roger addressed Hanabi in his mind and sticked to the plan that they had discussed.

Yet another roar and the house Roger had been standing on moments ago was now nothing but a pile of rubble and debris.

"Running will not save you, Hunter. You may have my blood now, but you will never be my equal!" the giant wolf bellowed and charged towards the werewolf.

Acting quickly, Roger tried to get away fast. But The Giant wolf was smarter than it appeared. Having seen that move many times before, The White Tooth had anticipated it and swatted Roger away like a fly with his paw. Roger crashed through a house, instantly destroying it and now lay battered and downed on the ground within the debris.

"No more running, Hunter. It's time to end this." The wolf raised its huge paw to crush the werewolf but out of the blue, a new voice yelled, "Get away from him!"

Both were shocked to see that it was Ruby and she was charging towards the Giant wolf. Armed with her scythe, she screamed bloody murder and slashed the weapon at the wolf. A wave of crimson red energy shot out of the scythe and hit the White Tooth. The attack was not so effective but it did caused the wolf to now focus solely on Ruby.

The wolf was about to go after the girl but suddenly Roger was out of debris and roared angrily, "You will not touch her!" with that, the werewolf pounced upon the giant wolf in blind rage. A single amused thought occurs in the White Tooth's mind, _'Interesting.'_

\---X---

Hanabi was really not sure what to say at this moment for Saya had suddenly asked whether she could climb or not. "Well I can...Sorta. Um....." Hanabi fidgeted nervously. The older woman got her answer anyways, "You're afraid of heights aren't you." That was not a question, but a statement. Hanabi glared at Saya at this and puffed her cheeks, "Hey! You can't swim either and I'm not making fun of you because of that!"

Saya sighed at this for no matter what Hanabi says, she was still a child at heart and it would get enduring at times.

"Fine, give me the explosive knives and I'll do the rest."

"They are called kunai." Corrected Hanabi and handed the kunai to the Sai'ore. Once the kunai was with Saya, she nodded at Hanabi and looked up towards the chapel. Though old its gothic accents made it tall and steep, but nothing Saya couldn't handle.

Taking a few steps back, Saya ran forward straight towards the chapel. Once she reached the wall, she jumped on it. Using the momentum of her body, she quickly did a wall run and caught a small ledge on the wall. Saya immediately hurled her body upwards and held the bricks which had slightly sticked out of their position due to old age. Using them as hand holds and started climbing upwards. **(Assassins creed style)**

Hanabi looked with fascination as Saya skilfully scaled up the chapel with ease, a feat that would cause most humans to get tired pretty soon. Saya's ability to not get tired helped here a lot as she was able to reach half way across the chapel top in no time. Approaching a window, Saya used her elbow to break it. Looking inside, Saya was glad to see that a staircase was right next to the window. How convenient!

It should lead Saya straight to the top. The woman was about to heave herself inside, but to her surprise a spear came soaring through the air and pierced her through the back. **(Guess who?)**

"Not again!"

Hanabi watched in horror as Saya's hand slipped and she fell all the way down. The older woman let out a pained scream as her left arm got twisted into odd angle because of the fall. The ninja girl was already on to her with a very concerned voice, "Saya-chan, are you alright."

"Yes.....But the bastard got me. Neha, Pull out the spear form my back."

The kunoichi was really hesitant about this but did as Saya asked of her. Hanabi yanked the spear out of her friend's body while Saya let out another pain gasp but her wounds started healing immediately. Gritting her teeth Saya held her dislocated arms and literally popped it back to its normal place, where it healed almost instantly. **(Far cry style)** Hanabi winched at this because she knew that even in Saya could heal; she would feel each and every bit of pain. And Hanabi hated the idea of Saya in pain.

Now in much better condition, Saya glared towards the culprit who was standing on a rooftop several yards away.Soon another hoard of Abyssal forces was making their way towards them. Thinking fast, Saya reached for her bag and started searching her inventory vigorously. Seeing the hoard coming closer, Hanabi panicked.

"What do we do? We don't have time for this."

Suddenly, Saya pulled out a rope form her bag. Hanabi was really confused but Saya tied the rope to one end of the spear that had been thrown at her. Once done, Saya held the spear and hurled the weapon towards the window she had broken half way across the chapel earlier. Once it got stuck on the desired area, Saya gave it a few pull and was satisfied that it was able to withstand her weight.

Now turning to Hanabi, Saya spoke in a very serious voice, "Listen, Neha. I need you to climb up to the window and get in the chapel. There is a stair nearby; it should lead you to the top. Go now and I will hold off the enemies."

Hanabi gulped nervously and stammered, "Me? Up there? Um.... How about you go up there and I take care of the abyss?"

Saya frowned, "I cannot risk that, Neha. They are after me."

"But..."

The Sai'ore cupped Hanabi's face all of a sudden. Looking her straight in the eye, Saya spoke softly, "I trust you, Hana. Would you not trust me?"

Her words had a strange effect on Hanabi. The Kunoichi looked away as heat flooded towards her masked cheeks, "Fine but you better come back in once piece."

Saya chuckled at this and bowed playfully, "As you wish, Mahajani." Using the Sai'oren word for queen while addressing Hanabi. The girl may not be fluent in Sai'oren, but she understood enough to know that word. Now, red as a tomato, Hanabi pushed Saya away while muttering, "Baka."

This caused Saya to let out a full out laughter. Shaking her head, she turned towards the forces of the abyss. Hanabi went towards the rope. She did however mutter softly, "Please be safe."

It was but a whisper but Saya's sharp ears were able to pick it easily. A small smile graced her lips and Saya muttered back, "I will."

\---X---

Roger gritted his teeth in frustration. Things were not going as planned and the werewolf was struggling to avoid the giant wolf's attacks. Ruby used her scythe to attack the wolf but as usual, it did little to cause any actual damage.

The wolf bellowed arrogantly, "Fools, you cannot harm me. I am more powerful than I ever was! You are but worms so do yourself a favour and stand still so I can crush you like vermin you are!" with that the White tooth stomped so hard that the entire ground shook.

Ruby lost her footing and fell on her rear. Seeing his chance, the giant wolf intended to crush her once and for all. He would have, had not Roger suddenly jumped on top of his head and clawing viciously.

"Leave her alone!" the werewolf roared and slashed at the wolf's left eye with his razor sharp claw.

"Raaahhhhhh!" the white tooth roared in pain as his left eyes as now no more. Anger seeped off the wolf's being as it swatted away the offending hunter off his face and nursed his now blind eye with his paw, "Enough of this. You shall not take more from me, Wretched Hunter."

Roger's defeated form looked up at the colossal wolf with weak eyes. This was it. He was done for. Roger could no longer go on. He was bested by the wolf and now he would die. Not as a glorious hunter, but as a cursed wolf with no name. His eyes fell on Ruby, who was looking at him with shocked eyes. So many words he wanted to say to her. So many things he had to apologise for and make up to. Yet now, it seemed that he won't be able to do it. The wolf was ready to stop his mortal enemy for good but he did noticed one thing. The White Tooth noticed that the werewolf was looking towards the little human girl with scythe, which stood not far away, with longing eyes.

A sinister smile appeared on its muzzle as the Giant wolf hissed evilly, "I presume that the little pup means something to you. It would be a real shame if something was to......... Happen to her right?"

Roger's eyes widened in horror. Weakly he protested, "No...don't you dare touch her!" but the wolf's grin widened even more. Turning around, it took off towards the little red hood, totally ignoring Roger's rage filled screams, "NO!"

Ruby froze in her place when the giant wolf came charging towards her with a sadist grin. She wanted to move but fear had locked her body. It was as if her body had betrayed her and refused to obey her at all.

It all happened in slow motion.

The wolf raised its enormous claws and brought it down towards Ruby. She could only look with her eyes wide in fear. But suddenly, she was pushed aside. Her eyes grew wider when the Werewolf pushed her away from the attack and took the entire blow head on. The attack was powerful enough to send both of them flying away, but still the werewolf wrapped Ruby in his arms protectively as the two crashed through a few houses before skidding to stop just before the chapel. Like this, Ruby was relatively unharmed but the werewolf was hurt badly.

All the while Ruby was trying to understand what just had happened. The werewolf slowly let go of Ruby and lay heavily on the ground beside her. His form gasping heavily for air as blood oozed out of his body and stained his grey fur red. Slowly the werewolf reverted back to his human form and when Ruby saw his true form her eyes became as wide as dinner plates.

She could utter only a single word, "Hunter?"

\---X---

Saya flexed her shoulders and cracked her neck as she slowly walked forward. Before her were the forces of the Abyss, consisting on many creeps, several lizardman as well as a few demons too. All were out here for blood. Her blood and Saya was more than willing to give a fight.

The Ex-Empress unsheathed her sword as held it with both of her hands. Slowly she started jogging forward. Her boldness offended many of the enemies as they too charged towards her with a war cry. Soon the entire hoard followed yet this sight didn't fazed Saya at all. In fact, Saya had this strange glint in her eyes. For too long she didn't had the privilege to go all out and now, perhaps she could let out all the pent up steam she had within her. _"Besides, I could use some practice. I was getting rusty anyways."_

A creep was the first to attack her but Saya avoided it easily and slashed it across its face. Its wooden mask doing nothing to protect its head. Another one tried to attack her from her side but Saya danced around the sloppy attack and shoved her sword through its gut. The Sai'ore then kicked its lifeless body back with such force that it was sent flying towards another creep that was coming towards her and sent both of them tumbling away.

A Lizardman tried to flank her but Saya was quicker than it anticipated and parried the thrust attack it had executed to impale her with its trident. The woman smirked and hit the saurian right in its face with the pommel of her sword, causing it to back off. Quickly she yanked the trident out of its grip and stabbed it in its neck with her sword. The hide there was relatively softer than its leathery body thus the sword went all the way in without much resistance.

Hearing a roar, Saya side stepped and avoided a downward sword slash meant to cleave her into two pieces. The Demon who had done this was not expecting such fast reaction so he was stunned for a split second. But this split second was all Saya needed. Since her sword was still inside the Lizardman's neck, Saya used the trident she had 'borrowed' from the saurian and stabbed him in the gut. The demon yowled in pain but was silenced quickly when Saya pulled out her sword from her previous victim and ran it through the demon's neck. Severing its spinal cord and ending him quickly. More of the abyssal forces closed on to her and Saya faced them all with a smirk on her face.

\---X---

If Alice was to describe Saya right now, it would be bewitching. The Demon Queen of Apocalypse was not usually interested in the brutish ways of the warriors, finding the way of the magic to be much more graceful and civilized. But, never had she imagined that she would be proven wrong.

Saya had this way of fighting that Alice had never seen before. Her each and every move was well thought. Her each attack was precise and deadly. And to top that up, it was all executed in such a display of skill and grace that it would seem naturally impossible.

The Zeno's moves were refines to a quality unheard of. The way how she could seemingly and gracefully adapt between the different styles of move sets and techniques was hypnotising. She blocked, she parried, she dodged and she countered. It was surreal how good she was and the fact that none of the Abyssal forces could land a hit on her was even more impressive. Had Alice not known better, she would've blamed Saya for sorcery, but no. This was no sorcery. This was all but pure skill. One that is gained from massive experience and wisdom.

More than half of the Abyssal forces now lay dead or defeated on the ground. The remaining of the forces was more than a little weary about engaging the white skinned Zeno before them. They couldn't even land a single hit and the woman didn't seem tired at all!

Saya looked upon the remaining enemies with a hard face. This caused a chill to pass through the remaining of the Abyss dwellers. Hell some of the creeps actually fled the vicinity while screaming apologies all the way. Those that were brave enough stayed behind but the fear in their being was evident. Their chattering teeth and shuddering legs were a dead giveaway. The empress almost pitied those fools.

Suddenly an all familiar voice echoed through the area, "Bravo! Bravo! You Madam are a demon in this trade! I think you just stole my heart!"

Saya rolled her eyes at Alice's antics and sighed, "Don't you take anything seriously?"

"Ugh, Serious is boring. You lots should have fun now and then you know."

"Your perception of fun is......questionable, Kari." Spoke Saya with a frown.

"You're no fun." Alice pouted. Even if she was an all powerful and evil demon queen, Saya couldn't help but admit that it was kind of adorable. A healthy blush appeared on Saya's cheeks at this and she shook her head to push away all these unwanted thoughts, _"Damned Sai'oren instincts. It's all because of that bite!"_

"But still...... the game is not over, Darling." Added Alice with playful yet sinister voice. By now Saya was used to Alice's tone changing colour in a blink of an eye and thus she knew that Alice was not bluffing. But that doesn't mean Saya wasn't annoyed. "Enough with the games already, we both have better things to do."

"You're right, Darling. Moskov, if you would please?"

Saya was confused at this but she suddenly felt a presence behind her. When in a full on frontal combat, Saya was extremely formidable with only a few who could match her. But like any other, she could be taken by surprise and due to her healing power; she had developed a blind spot for such things as her healing power meant that she would never be at any real danger under any circumstances. That was the reason why Moskov was successfully able to sneak up to her and use his spear of misery on her.

The Sai'ore was sent soaring through the air and now found herself hanging on a wall with a spear through her stomach which literally nailed to the wall. Saya grumbled in annoyance, "I really need a better armour."..........


	20. The last howl

"Okay....You can do this." Hanabi muttered this to herself over and over again as she held the rope with her hand slowly started to climb up the chapel.

"Come on, it's not that high. Plus you're a ninja; you can do this with your eyes closed." Hanabi muttered to herself. Heights were one of the many things Hanabi was uncomfortable with and this was evident when she was trying her best to get on top of the chapel.

Grasping the rope to steady herself, Hanabi used it to ground herself on the chapel's wall as she 'walked' vertically. "It's totally fine. Just don't look down. Don't look down." Hanabi chanted to herself. But she couldn't stop herself from sneaking a peek below her and that was a big mistake. Although fifteen feet was not exactly a great height but it was enough to scare Hanabi. Squeaking fearfully with anime tears streaming down her eyes comically, Hanabi whimpered, "I looked down! I looked down!" her case of acrophobia was getting the best of her and she held the rope tightly and closed her eyes.

Hanabi was shaking in fear; a part of her was even ashamed of herself for having such a ridiculous fear. But still she just couldn't help it. "I cannot do this." she muttered to herself. Then again, Saya's words replayed in her mind.

_"I trust you, Hana. Would you not trust me?"_

Her words echoed over and over in her head. It made her realized that how much depended on her shoulders right now. Roger depended on her. The entire town depended on her. Saya depended on her. The fear was still there but this thought was enough to help Hanabi overcome it to an extent. She couldn't just give up just now. Not when so many depended on her. She must do this. She had to do this!

The Kunoichi took a deep breath and looked up towards her goal, "Don't worry, Saya-chan. You can count on me!"

\---X---

Saya grabbed the spear that had pierced through her gut with her hands and took a deep breath. Gritting her teeth, she pulled the spear out of her body. As soon as the spear was taken out, she fell down on the ground. Letting out several gasps, she slowly stood up using the spear as support.

She again felt a presence behind her and immediately brought her sword up to block another spear thrown at her by Moskov. "You are really starting to annoy me." Saya grumbled with an annoyed voice.

Yet the Spear wielder had an impassive face. "Struggle and resistance are useless. Surrender now and I will not harm you."

Saya rolled her eyes at this and threw the spear she had been holding back at the shorter man. To Saya's surprise, Moskov moved so fast that it was as if he teleported away from his position. In a blink of an eye, he threw five more spears at Saya. The speed of the attack shocked Saya for even when she stepped away from the attack, one out of five spears still managed to hit her.

The Ex-empress gritted her teeth in frustration and yanked the spear out of her body and looked at the half-breed with furious eyes. Looks like she would have to step up her game.

Saya pumped Maya into her legs and boosted them considerable. Now enhanced to a whole new level, she sprung right into action.

With the new found speed, Saya was able to successfully keep up with Moskov's speed. But she was not actually able to catch up with him. His Abyss walk was just too fast and then there was this strange magic of his. Saya could've sworn that by now Moskov had thrown over a hundred spears but still he kept on hurling spears after spears towards her. From where the hell was he even getting all those spears? That was a mystery. But one thing was for certain.

The battle was turning into a game of tag.

This went on for several minutes. Saya would catch up with Moskov and execute an attack. Only for the Half-breed to either 'abyss walk' his way out of her reach or push her back with his 'spear of misery'. It was getting really annoying and tedious. This couldn't go on and Saya would have to think of a new idea.

Saya pulled out yet another spear that had hit her arm and held it tightly along with another spear she had collected from the area. Till now nothing she tried had worked. Moskov was a very slippery opponent but it was clear that he was not good at close quarters. That meant if he was caught, it was game over for him.

Having been studying his pattern for so long, Saya now held two of Moskov's discarded spears and executed her plan. She made a dash towards Moskov and gave a feint attack. As expected Moskov hit her with Spear of Misery to push her away. But what Moskov didn't expect was Saya to hurl one of his own spears toward him as a javelin.

Just as expected, Moskov used his Abyss walk. Saya had observed Moskov's this move that made him so much more agile. She had learned that Moskov was able to Abyss walk only in the direction he was facing. And that he could dash only up to a distance of exactly four meters.

It took Moskov only a split second to look towards his left and Abyss walk towards that direction. But unbeknownst to him, he fell right into Saya's trap.

The Sai'ore hurled the other spear towards that direction. It was all calculated and precise because as soon as Moskov teleported to that direction, he was greeted with a sight of another spear heading straight towards him. And since his Abyss Walk required a sort of cool down of a short time before using it again. He had no way of avoiding it.

The Half-breed let out yowl of pain when his own spear stabbed him on his toe. A slight miscalculation on Saya's end but it seemed to do the trick. Although small, the toe of the body had nerves as well and when stabbed, it would cause excruciating pain.

Seeing her chance, Saya totally ignored the spear that was sticking on her body and dashed towards Moskov. The Half breed saw her coming and tried to get away but the spear through his toe kept him stranded to his position. Knowing that her target would not get away this time, Saya unsheathed her sword and slashed across Moskov's chest.

Moskov stood motionless for a while. It seemed so surreal but he felt his life liquid slowly dripped off his deep wound across his chest. Saya forcefully yanked the spear that was stabbing the man's toe and allowed him to fall down on his knees. The son of Windsand clan was speechless. As he held his bleeding chest, he remembers his past. His family, his home. The choices that had lead to this stage of his life.

Slowly he spoke out aloud, "Fate is so unfair......isn't it." His words surprised Saya, but after thinking for a while, she understood what the man was talking about. His clan, her people, they were innocent, yet still they were gone. Fate is unfair indeed. Slowly Saya replied solemnly, "Yes, it is."

Moskov looked up at the tall woman. This Zeno; even if worlds apart, she knew the pain he shared. The pain of losing the loved ones. The Pain of not belonging anywhere, "I long for peace in the heart...........Would you please grant it to me?"

Saya looked at the Half-breed with solemn eyes. Recognising the look in his eyes she felt a new kinship brew up within her. Saya decided that she would honour his request. Unsheathing her sword, she held it with both of her hands. Standing before the half-breed, Saya ran her sword through his heart. The light in Moskov's amber eyes faded away, yet a content smile was what adorned his face. Respectfully, Saya laid his body down of the ground and closed his eyes with her hands. "Be in peace now." Saya prayed lowly.

Thus the Spear of Quiescence was no more. Saya let out a sigh of relief. With their ace taken down, the rest of the Abyssal forces retreated away. Her battle was over, now she prayed for the safety of the others.

\---X---

Ruby looked at Roger's downed figure. "Hunter?" she called. Her voice almost on the verge of breaking down. The older man looked up to her. A small weak smile came upon his face, "Hello, Little Pup. Ugh..... How's it going?" Then another pained groan escaped from his lips.

A turmoil of emotions swelled within Ruby as she looked upon the man who she had not seen for so long. So many emotions played within her at the moment. Confusion, anger, relief as well as sadness. Ruby couldn't think of any words, except for a single one, "Why?" her voice was demanding. Broken yet demanding.

The hunter looked away in shame, "I messed up, Ruby. I messed up big." Roger let out another fit of violent coughs. Blood dripped down his mouth, his chest hurt like hell and it hurt every time he breathed. "I'm so sorry, Little Pup. I'm so- so sorry."

She hurriedly came to his side and held his shoulders, "You don't get to say sorry! You cannot just leave me again!" Frustrated tears ran down her eyes as she spoke further, "I have been alone for so long, all the family I have left is you. Please, Roger don't go!" she couldn't hold it back anymore. She hugged Roger's prone form and cried desperately. Ruby was afraid. More than she had ever been in her whole life.

Her pained sobs broke the hunter's heart. He hugged her back weakly, "I know, Little Pup. But this is for your own good." Suddenly Roger used all of his remaining strength to throw Ruby away from his position. Pulling out his Six barrelled pistol, Roger shot at the White Tooth's direction. The Bullet hit right in its other eye, successfully blinding it for good. Roaring bloody murder the wolf blindly charged towards the chapel. Throwing away the gun Roger yelled on top of his lungs, "Hanabi get ready!"

\---X---

Hanabi had finally made it till the broken window and reached the stairs. As Saya had informed, it lead Hanabi straight to the top of the chapel. The panoramic view that Hanabi could see from the top was absolutely stunning **(That is if she didn't regard the fact that how high she was right now.)** Pushing those thoughts aside, Hanabi quickly got to work. Separating all the explosive tags form her Kunai, Hanabi used those gun powder filled envelops to rig the Chapel bell with explosive tags.

She worked tirelessly, all the while trying not to look down and constantly muttering her mantra, "Don't look down."

Suddenly a she heard Roger yell at the top of his lungs, "Hanabi get ready!" as soon as he said this, the entire chapel shook violently, as if it was hit by something big. Hanabi's eyes widened in surprise when she learned that the White Tooth had head butted the chapel and this caused her to nearly fall off the top.

"Kuso, I haven't set it up yet!"

Roger gritted his teeth and glared up at the wolf, "Damn it kid, what's taking you so long? Blow up the tower already." He hissed. The White tooth sniffed audibly and growled, "You may have taken my vision, Hunter. But my nose has yet to fail me. And I can still smell your tainted blood." With that, the wolf turned directly towards Roger and the said hunter paled at this. "Got you."

He was about to gobble Roger up but suddenly Ruby came in between them and slashed across its soft muzzle, "Back off, Dirty wolf!" this attack was more effective as the Giant wolf reared back and roared in pain.

Then suddenly, they all heard a voice yell from top of the chapel, "Fire in the hole!"

Hanabi placed the last explosive tag and ran downstairs. Performing a single hand sign, Hanabi yelled, "Bakuhatsu shimasu" **(this is supposed it mean explode in Japanese.)**

The Explosive tags went off in a fiery blaze, destroying most of the things in its path. The bell on top of the Chapel was successfully separated from its beam and came crushing down on the ground. Ruby saw this coming and immediately ran away along with Roger who she dragged all the way long. The White tooth, which was completely blinded, was oblivious of the danger it was in. When he realized this, it was too late. The huge bell, made completely of metal, probably weighing over a ton came crushing down upon the Giant wolf. It skull couldn't withstand the weight and the force of the bell due to the effects of gravity and was immediately crushed. The rest of the body seized moving as well.

Hanabi climbed down from the rope and came to inspect her handy work. Her plan worked!

The White wolf's body gradually degraded till only its skeleton was left. Leaving it in a state in which how Hanabi first saw it. A huge pile of Skeletons, with its skull crushed by a huge bell. Slowly a green aura appeared over its dead body and slowly it manifested itself into a ball of green light. It was just like when Hanabi had killed the Stone Titan, the White tooth was a jungle monster as well!

The ball shot towards Hanabi and completely merged with her, leaving her with a tingling sensation all over her body, "Well........ That happened."

Back at Roger and Ruby, the old hunter looked upon the now dead White Tooth with a relieved look. He could feel it. The Wolf's spirit was destroyed as well. It was all over. He now lay back on the ground, Roger was tired and he was hurt. A Little rest sounded heavenly right now. Slowly the world around him grew dark and the last thing he was a red hood and golden hair................


	21. A new dawn

Saya sighed in relief. The Colossal Wolf was defeated, the Abyssal forces had retreated and now the fight was finally over. The woman was now making her way towards the others but stopped suddenly.

"I know you are there, Alice." Saya called all of a sudden and turned around. As expected, the said Demon Queen was standing before her with a sly smile.

"Well look at you. You even defeated one of my most powerful pet. I don't know whether I should be offended or impressed." The white haired chirped enthusiastically. Saya sighed; Alice's antics were really making her very tired.

"So....are we to trade blows now?"

"Why? Afraid to get your hands dirty?", smirked Alice.

"No, I just.......I don't want to hurt you." Saya spoke softly and looked away. Her answer stunned Alice. The Demon Queen felt a strange warm sensation grow inside her. Saya's words had been genuine and filled with affection that it really confused Alice. Oh who was she kidding, she knew exactly what it was but was not willing to admit it. Alice was too afraid to admit it. The feeling scared her, it agitated her.

"Enough of this!" Alice yelled in frustration, more to herself than to Saya. She dashed towards Saya, intending to claw her with her razor sharp nails but Saya held her back by holding Alice by her arms which caused the demoness to let out a sharp gasp. The Sai'ore's brows furrowed in concern and let go of her immediately.

**(Hope you like my drawing)**

"Show me." Saya demanded firmly but softy. Gulping nervously, Alice undid her arm braces. Saya's frown deepened when she saw that on Alice's right arm was a deep wound, one that was inflicted by a claw. One that was given to Alice by Selena, one that was indirectly caused by Saya.

The Sai'ore examined Alice's wound with upmost care and tenderness and asked, "Does it hurt?" the concern in her voice was so genuine that Alice was nearly overwhelmed by it. All she could manage was a nod. Saya reached for her bag and pulled out some of her herb enriched bandages and ointment. It was clear that the wound was not treated properly and Saya would not allow it anymore.

Alice looked at Saya with confusion was the taller woman added the stinging ointment over her hurting wound and wrap it with that bandage she had taken out of her bag while a turmoil of emotions raged inside Alice. The Demon queen was always used to be feared and hated by all others. Even her own kin hated her as much as they hated each other. That was the reason why the unexpected kindness and care the Zeno showed towards her was so foreign and confusing.

"Why?" Alice asked lowly. Gone was the usual malice or the mirth in her voice. It was soft and filled with confusion and hesitation. A far cry from what she usually was.

There was no simple answer for Alice's question. Saya could blame that it was all because of the bite, yet still that even Saya could feel that this went a bit deeper than just her natural instincts. The Sai'ore looked away and replied, "I don't know." Not many words were exchanged between them for both of them didn't know exactly what was the right thing to say in situation like this.

Alice even noticed that Saya still had the bite mark that she had left on her. A great surprise as Saya's healing powers had healed far worst wounds and yet it didn't leave any marks. It was like as if Saya had purposefully kept the mark on herself. "You kept it?"

Saya knew what Alice was talking about and blushed brightly, "The marks means a lot to us Sai'ore. I couldn't remove it."

This was surreal. How could a small bite cause so much impact was beyond Alice's comprehension. It was really confusing for her. What was more confusing was the fact that had it been someone else, Alice would've already seized this opportunity to indoctrinate the person. Not that she tried on Saya and it would fail but right now, Alice genuinely didn't wanted to do so. The affection that Saya had showed to her was not because of Alice's charm but still Saya cared for her in her own awkward way.

"But we...... We are enemies....." Alice protested.

Saya frowned at this, "Are we?" she asked back, stunning Alice to no end. Slowly Saya held Alice's hand. Although her hands were gloved, Saya's touch was oddly tender. Holding Alice's hand with both of hers, Saya gave a gently and affectionate squeeze, "I never thanked you for saving me back in the forest. Anureha'ad." **(Sai'oren word for "many thanks")**

Never had Alice felt such a sensation before. Her heart was beating at of thousand miles per hour. Her cheeks were beet red with butterflies flying inside her stomach. It was too much. Hate and scorn was easy for her to bear for she was used to but love **(If you could call it that)** was just too much for the Demon Queen to bear.

The distress in Alice's face caused Saya to be even more concerned, "What's wrong, Alice?" she asked in worry.

There was it again. Oh how Alice wished that Saya was just mocking her and that her concern was nothing but just a fake and cruel trick, but no. It was real. It was just as real as the moon and the sky. She couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand the effect that it had on her. She could stand the flicker of hope that was growing inside her. Alice had to get away from Saya, she had to save herself.

Knowing that getting away was not possible, Alice did the one thing that she shouldn't had done at all in the first place. The one thing that started it all.

Saya was not able to react in time as Alice suddenly latched on to her. Before the Sai'ore could even react, the blood demon sank her fangs on Saya's neck. A familiour taste flooded inside Alice. The same sweet taste with its signature strange power that Alice had been craving for so long. She let out a loud moan as her legs grew weak once again. Suddenly Saya pushed her away and Alice let out a loud breath.

The Demon Queen looked up at Saya and saw her shocked face with a hint of betrayal. Just like Alice had intended. Steeling her heart, Alice let out a smug smirk, "As delicious as ever, My precious delicacy."

Alice knew that this would affect Saya. That her words would push her away and thus the Demon queen had prepared herself mentally. Yet she was never prepared for Saya's current expression. She had the look of absolute betrayal. Her eyes said it all. Saya was hurt badly. She felt betrayed, she felt used. She should've known this. She was a Sai'ore, Alice was not. Their customs didn't match. Saya was but a source of blood for Alice, nothing more nothing less.

Saya really should've known better. She should've expected this, but still it hurt. Alice expected Saya to be angry, to yell, to cry, to do anything that would give Alice a reason to hate her, just so that Saya's hurt face would be easier to bear. But to the Demon Queen, she did none of this.

A new found respect brews within Alice for she knew that Saya was on verge of tears yet she didn't weep. She controlled her emotions and only Saya knew just how it was for her to not break down then and there, for no matter how old she was, or how powerful she was and how much wisdom she had.......Saya still had her heart. She just had learned how to hide it.

Gently she supported Alice as she was still a little dazed after drinking Saya's Maya induced blood. But Saya didn't look at her at all. Gone was the previous intimacy between them as Saya just held Alice so that she wouldn't fall down. The Ex-empress laughed bitterly at herself because when analyzing things in general, this was not actually Alice's fault. It was all Saya and her hardwired instincts which made her misinterpret Alice's actions. It was just her searching for something that was not even there.

"You should go leave, Kari. Before the villagers arrive." Saya suggested softly. Alice got what she wanted, for even if there were traces barely masked concern and affection in Saya's voice; she was now pushing Alice away.

The Demon Queen slowly limped away, her head still a bit dizzy. She nearly lost her footing but Saya caught her once again. This caused a strange heaviness in Alice's heart because even if Saya was pushing her away, she was still worried about her. It filled her with a new emotion, one that she hadn't ever felt before, guilt.

Steadying herself, Alice opened her wings took to the sky. While making her way further and further away from Saya, the demoness did look back to check on the white skinned Zeno. She found that Saya was slowly making her own way ahead, not even looking in her direction. And although Alice didn't admit it, it pained her heart.

"Perhaps this is for the best......for both of us." Alice muttered to herself.

\---X---

Saya walked towards the chapel with a stoic expression. For eons she had mastered the arts of masking her feelings but that didn't mean she didn't feel it. It was just like her body when it gets damaged. Her body heals but she feels all the pain. Only in this case, her heart doesn't heal quickly form emotion because Heart ache, contradicting its name, was not a physical wound.

Oh how she envied the Immortals right now for they do not suffer the curse that is the emotions of Mortal heart. Her emotions could often be a useful tool as if will inspire her to fight a thousand time more harder than any heartless Immortal for she would fight with 'her heart' but at times like this, it would be a serious liability as her emotions would keep tormenting her and there was no easy ointment for it.

Sometimes she even fancies just cutting her heart out, but she knows that her physical heart was nothing but an organ which pumps blood and not the actual centre of emotion and the fact that she had done it before and it was not helpful at all. Her heart would re-grow and it would only hurt a lot, leaving the hole in her being that would be left unfilled.

The woman sighed to herself and walked forward. She could see Hanabi and the rest ahead of her and she really didn't want to bother them with her own problems.

\---X---

Hanabi had been looking at her arm for a while now. Just below the place where she had gained the mark from the Stone Titan, there was now a new mark. It looked somewhat like a green cross and Hanabi recognised that symbol form the knowledge she had gained by reading the book King Roderick had gifted her back in Mossenia.

It was the Mark of Vitality, Gained by slaying a certain group of jungle monsters which is said to 'boost' the wielder's vitality and health. She was however a bit confused that why she would gain two marks on the same time. When she had read the book, there was no mention of 'Buffs' overlapping. When a person would kill more than one jungle monster, the 'buff' of the new monster would replace the old 'Buff', yet in her case, it had somehow stacked. Hanabi smirked to herself, _'I know right! I'm just that awesome!'_

"I see that your plan worked." A voice spoke from behind her and Hanabi recognised it immediately. The Ninja girl turned around with her arms on her hips, "I had devised the plan. Of course it would work!" Hanabi declared boastfully.

Then there it was. Hanabi's childish antics were enough to considerably dull the stinging Saya felt in her chest. With a warm smile Saya spoke truthfully, "I knew you could do it, Neha. I am proud of you."

The older woman's words caused Hanabi's heart to melt. She literally jumped towards Saya and wrapped her arms around the much taller woman in a huge hug. Saya was surprised when this happened but then she heard Hanabi's voice.

"I'm so glad you're here with me, Saya -chan." There was no flirty intention, no sultry undertone. Just pure and innocent affection. It melted Saya's heart. A small smile appeared on Saya's face at this. Tentatively, the Sai'ore wrapped her arms around the smaller girl as well. Saya felt as if a vacant hole in her heart was now filled. A new wave of contentment flew through her being and her body relaxed considerably. Gone was the previous heaviness in her heart as Saya rested her chin upon Hanabi's head, "So am I, meha Neha. So am I."

Unbeknownst to both of them, the bite mark on Saya's neck slowly faded away.

\---X---

The sun rose over the horizon, heralding the arrival of a new day. The Town of New wood was nearly destroyed but still Saya and the rest had managed to save a vast majority of the people. They were very grateful for it and soon the four were even hailed as the Heroes of New Wood.

Saya and Hanabi, as back in Mossenia, decided to stay back for a while and help the town in whatever ways possible. Many of the people were injured and required medical attention, which Saya was more than willing to provide.

She had even forced Hanabi to learn many aspects of the healing arts. And even though Hanabi was not willing to admit it, she learned many things. The town was slowly healing and constructing itself. However Roger had still not woken up.

Out of all of them, he had received the worst injuries in the fight. Thus his recovery was also the slowest. They all owed a huge deal to Roger for had it not been for him, they could not have defeated the White Tooth. One could say that he was the MVP of the battle.

Five day after the brutal battle, Saya suddenly entered a camp filled with injured villagers and faced Hanabi and Ruby who had been tending them, "Roger has awaken and he is now in the state to take visitors." She announced happily.

Hanabi was the first to spring up to her feet, "About time, I wanna give that old man a piece of my mind for worrying us all. What do you say, Ruby-Gaki? You comming?" the kunoichi turned enthusiastically towards the said person but stopped when she saw Ruby's impassive face. This confused Hanabi, "What's wrong? You're not gonna meet him?"

Again Ruby didn't answered and it was getting on Hanabi's nerves. But Saya interfered before Hanabi chewed the younger girl's head off.

"Neha, why don't you go and say hi to Mr. Roger. I need to have a few words with Ruby." Hanabi grumbled in annoyance but didn't protest. She stomped out of the camp, leaving Saya and Ruby alone **(If you didn't count all the unconscious or sleeping patients)**

Saya sat beside Ruby who had been sitting on one of the unoccupied bed and sighed, "You cannot just keep running like this Ruby."

The young Girl flinched at this but still didn't talk back. Saya knew her problem. Ruby was afraid. She was afraid of confronting Roger, she was afraid of confronting her past.

"I know you think that you're not ready, but in truth nobody ever is. Sometimes you will have to just come out of your shell and face it."

Her words had made Ruby really rethink and look upon the tall woman. Saya gently placed her hand on the little red hood's shoulder, "I will not force you, Child. But I would advise you to go and talk to him. It would at least ease your burden." With a gentle and reassuring squeeze, Saya stood up and went to tend her patients.

Ruby stayed on her place for a while before taking a deep breath. Standing up, she gave a nod at Saya's direction and made her way out of the camp with determined steps, earning a proud smile from Saya.

The Blond walked purposefully towards Roger's camp. Since the people of New Wood were so glad that their lost protector had returned, they had given him a separate camp in respect and tried to provide him with as much comfort as possible. As she approached closer to the camp, Ruby could actually hear Hanabi scolding Roger from inside the camp. Seriously, the Ninja girl had some anger issues but deep down, they all knew that Hanabi was just worried. That was just her way of showing that she cared.

Taking a deep breath, Ruby barged inside the camp without a warning. Both the occupants of the camp were shell-shocked, especially Roger for he too believed that he wasn't ready to face Ruby right now. Hanabi gave her an annoyed glare, "Haven't you heard about knocking?"

Ruby replied her with a deadpan look. Hanabi threw up her hands in expiration, "Fine-fine, I'm going!"

Now both Ruby and Roger were alone in the camp, an awkward silence filled the area. The tension was thick and both of them were not sure how to approach each other. Slowly Roger sat up, showing his heavily bandaged body and scratched his head awkwardly, "The Ninja kid, she can be a hand full sometimes."

"Yes she can." Ruby replied stoically, causing Roger to flinch at the coldness in her voice.

"Listen, Ruby, I..."

"You left me. You left me when I needed you the most." Her voice was cold and hurtful.

"I had to. I couldn't control the curse; I could've harmed all of you......." Roger tried to reason but Ruby lashed out, "You could've told me, Roger! We could've found another way!" anger and frustration filled her voice. Her eyes were blurred with tears, "We could've found another way and you wouldn't had to leave. You didn't had to leave me alone!" Tears fell freely down Ruby as all the loneliness and sadness she felt over the course of ten years flowed out like waters of a broken dam.

Guilt coursed through Roger. Slowly he stood up. His body was far from healed as his back and chest hurt like hell and his left leg felt like it had been crushed over and over again. Yet still he limped towards her even when his body protested. He was in pain, but the pain meant nothing to him for he was more worried about Ruby.

The Little red hood was left speechless when the old Man wrapped her in a big hug. Ruby's eyes widened at this. Roger closed his eyes and spoke solemnly, "I know that I've hurt you Little Pup. I'm so sorry. But I promise that I will never leave you again. Would you please give me a chance to make it right?" his voice was soft and pleading. It instantly burnt away all the bitterness in her heart. Ruby hugged back the Hunter tightly. She held on to him like lifeline and cried her eyes out. All the pent up emotions, all the years of despair. The hunter held her closer as the young girl let it all out.

Several moments passed and both of them stayed like this for a while. Finally Ruby was done and she looked up at Roger. A wide and genuine smile appeared on her face. A smile that Roger had longed to see for a very long time, "I'm so glad you're back, Roger."

Roger smiled back. A huge burden had been lifted off both of their shoulders. Both of them felt as if their hearts were no longer heavy with guilt and misery. They couldn't be happier.

\---X---

Two weeks had passed by the Town of New Wood was now more or less stable enough to look after its own. Satisfied with their deeds, it was now time for Saya and Hanabi to be on their way.

"So where will you head towards now?" asked Roger to Hanabi, who along with Ruby had tagged along to see them off.

"Don't know, I guess Saya-chan has some plans for my training. And don't worry, we had a lot of money too!" exclaimed Hanabi while patting a hefty sack of coins the villagers had gave them to show their gratitude. The Hunter chuckled at this, "Right. You good, Kid. You're gonna do just fine."

"Fine? I'm gonna nail it! Just watch me!" with that Hanabi walked ahead with puffed chest and proud steps, oblivious that she was going the wrong way.

"That's the wrong way, Kid!"

"Huh?....Uh, I know that! I was j-just...Um, Testing you guys! Yes, I was just testing you guys. Glad to know that you're not so dumb after all old man." everyone shared a laugh at this.

Saya turned to Roger and shook hands with him, "It was nice working with you, Mr. Roger."

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss. Saya. May we cross path again." Replied Roger with a firm handshake.

"Like wise." Then Saya turned towards Ruby. She had a smile on her face and looked brighter than ever. Now she looked like the innocent child she was meant to be, filled with happiness and joy, not bloodlust and despair. For weeks she and Roger had been catching up and both of them had benefitted from them, "A guess this is where we part ways, Child."

Now more open than her previous self, Ruby hugged the taller woman. Saya smiled and returned the hug willingly.

"Will we meet again?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"Of course, Child. Our paths shall cross once again, you have my word."

Ruby nodded. "You know....... You told me that we need a purpose in our life? I think I got one now."

Saya raised her brow at this, "Is that so?"

Ruby smiled and nodded, "Yes. I want to put a happy end for all the good people in every story!"

A naïve and innocent dream. Saya smiled softly at this, "I'm sure you will child. I'm sure you will."

"And I think I know you're your purpose too!" chirped Ruby enthusiastically.

This surprised Saya, "Oh. Care telling me what it is?" she asked sweetly.

"Her." Ruby answered, pointing at Hanabi. Who was having an awkward stare-off with Nhari the horse. Ruby's words shocked Saya but the little girl carried on, "She means a lot to you and her safety is all you care for. So it obvious isn't it?" Saya just stood speechless at this, not being able to contemplate any right words.

Sensing her nervousness, Roger stepped in. Ruffling Ruby's hair, he said playfully, "Come on, Little pup. We still have much to do."

Ruby puffed her cheeks at this and replied sarcastically, "Yes, 'Dad'." Oddly Roger liked the sound of it. It felt right. It felt right at home. Giving a last hug to Saya, Ruby went after Roger, leaving Saya alone with her own thoughts.

Ruby's words echoed in her mind.

Was Ruby really true?

Was Hanabi really so curtail for Saya?

"Saya-chan, Are you alright?" a familiar voice brought Saya out of her trench. Her worried face now within her view, all doubts in her mind was cleared. This human......she meant worlds to Saya. Within the time she had spent with Hanabi, she has become the one thing she had come to cherished the most. The one thing that she cared for more than anything. The one thing that saved her from her own despair.

It was clear now, Hanabi indeed was her purpose. And Saya couldn't have been happier. Cupping Hanabi's cheek, Saya gave a warm smile, "Never better, meha Neha." Although hidden by her mask, Hanabi smiled underneath it as well.

"So were to now, Sensei?"

Saya had no idea, but as long as she was with her human, the Ex-empress of the Sai'ore was willing to go anywhere...............

**(Thus the end of Roger and Ruby arch, Hope you enjoyed it till now)**


	22. The second lesson

Six weeks had passed since the incident in the town of New wood. Saya knew that the forces of the Abyss were after her and so she decided that staying in one area for too long was not a wise decision. Thus Hanabi and Saya had been travelling ever since, never settling in once place for too long. Saya was, however, conscious about Hanabi's training and so they would set up temporary camps now and then and stay for a couple of days.

They would do so to resupply but this was mostly to train Hanabi more in the ways of a Warrior.

This was quite a problem. Teaching Hanabi some of the basics was easy enough, but when Saya stepped up Hanabi's training to more advanced forms of arts. Not only was Hanabi totally new to the Alien ways of Hrontrehaare, but her current role as a ninja vastly conflicted with her training.

A ninja was essentially an Assassin and a Hrontrehaare was a warrior. Their methods were polar opposites of each other and it was a really tasking job to teach them to Hanabi. Her kind taught her the ways of the shadows, of back stabbing, while Saya's way was that of honour and head on combat. Thus when contrasting methods were shoved inside a single body, it wasn't exactly a success.

The nature of a Ninja was hardwired inside Hanabi and Saya wouldn't be able to fully take it out of her in such little amount of time, but it had its perks was well. Hanabi was unbelievable light on her feet and her observational skills was very good was well, both a very useful qualities in combat, thus Saya had to device a new way for Hanabi. Something that would compliment her assassin-like nature as well.

Although Hrontreehaare were honourable warriors, Saya too had her own personal assassins during her rule over the Sai'oren and thus, she had studied their techniques to an extent as well. So it was not so hard to come up with something for Hanabi, but she had to bend some rules for Hanabi because of this.

Thus Saya trained Hanabi to be agile and quick. She made her attacks powerful and precise. Now Hanabi could quickly take down most opponents with one or two melee attacks without much problem. But still Hanabi's durability was one of her many problems. Although Saya's training and the strange buff she got form the White Tooth had made Hanabi sturdier than before, But Hanabi was still quite squishy and couldn't take much hits. Saya had to work on that but there was another thing about Hanabi that worried Saya.

"Kuso!" Hanabi cursed angrily. The two had been sparring with each other with wooden sticks and the kunoichi had yet to land a hit on her Zeno teacher. This was frustrating Hanabi too much and it was really stirring her focus away.

"Dhara'he, Neha. Don't let anger blind you." Advised Saya while deflecting another attack form Hanabi. The other girl was very winded as sweat tinkled down her body, making her clothes stick to her uncomfortably but still she was too angry to actually acknowledge this and charged in once more.

Saya narrowed her eyes at this. It was clear that Hanabi was not listening to her at all and was letting her anger get the best of her. It was as if Hanabi had disregarded everything that she had taught her. Having enough of it, Saya parried Hanabi's yet another attack. Till now Saya had only been in her defensive state but now she suddenly shifted to her offensive state. Hanabi was not expecting this and Saya was already inside her guard. With a swift sweep kick, Saya immediately swept Hanabi off her feet and now she was on the ground with a shocked look on her face.

Gritting her teeth in anger, Hanabi tried to stand up for more fight; But Saya put away her wooden stick, "That's enough for today."

This shocked Hanabi even more, "What? No, I can still fight!"

Saya shook her head, "It's not about whether or not you can fight, Neha. We are done for today." The woman said sternly. Her words astounded Hanabi even more, but her shock soon turned into anger. Standing up abruptly, Hanabi stomped towards their camp and Saya sighed. This was what Saya was really concerned about. Hanabi's temper was a big problem and it could cost her dearly in a real battle.

\---X---

Since that day, Saya refused to spar with Hanabi and didn't teach her new techniques as well. When she asked Saya why would she not teach her the older woman would shake her head and speak tiredly, "You're not ready, Neha."

This angered Hanabi even more. Right now she was reading one of the Sai'oren scripts that Saya had wrote for her during their travels. The older woman had basically written an entire book for her and Hanabi was to understand its meanings and lessons by the end of their training. Over weeks, Hanabi had picked up much of the Sanskrit-like Alien language while Saya herself had learned a bit of Japanese which was Hanabi's mother tongue. Now Hanabi could read a few pages of the codes Saya had written for her. It was hard at first but now Hanabi could read and understand some of the Sai'oren words, but she still lacked the skills to speak the language properly as the accent was quite different, which was a problem both of them shared and were working on it.

Still Hanabi was not exactly thrilled at the prospective of all this. Who knows what the Akuma ninja must be doing out in the open and here she was, stuck reading books written in an alien language with a teacher who refuses to teach her. Don't get her wrong, Hanabi loved Saya, but still it infuriated Hanabi that Saya would not teach her new moves. In fact, she was hurt that Saya didn't teach her.

_'Does she not trust me? Does she really believe that I am not ready?'_ These thoughts really nagged her. Hanabi huffed and continued her studies. Her eyes went over her white skinned friend-teacher. She had been cooking dinner over the bonfire they had started. By the looks of it, it was biryani once again; the dish Hanabi had started to absolutely love. Yet this didn't seem to brighten Hanabi's mood too much.

She was still quite mad at Saya and it was an information that she didn't care to hide.

Hanabi looked back at the book she had in her hand and re-read it. Or at least the parts that she could understand. The Kunoichi went through the various basic stances, footings and weapon styles that she had learned and practiced throughout the month. Hanabi had gotten a good hold over all of these techniques (even if she hasn't mastered them all) so she really wanted to go towards the other new techniques that the book had to offer. But Saya had told her not to and Hanabi couldn't disobey her as she couldn't read more than the pages that Saya had explained to her and Hanabi wouldn't be able to do much without proper guidance, which her teacher was refusing to give.

"You are not ready." Hanabi really hated those words, as they were the same words she had been hearing all her life. Her parents, her colleagues and The Village elders. Hanabi really felt betrayed by this as she had expected that Saya would be different. That Saya would believe in her. That Saya would not be like them.

Hanabi was suddenly brought out of her thoughts when Saya came over her. A hot steaming bowl of food in her hand and a warm smile on her face, "Dinner time, Neha."

The younger kunoichi took the bowl but didn't return the smile. Wordlessly she ate her food, oblivious of the look of hurt in Saya's eyes. Her act made Saya's heart sting, but still she didn't show it outwardly. Saya knew that Hanabi didn't mean to hurt her. She was just upset and Saya understood it. No matter how mature and confident the human showed herself to be, Hanabi was still a child at heart. It was one of the reasons why Saya loved Hanabi so much but it could get real bumpy as well. Thus, Saya didn't express her sadness. She was doing this for the kunoichi's own well being and Saya hoped that Hanabi would come to see this as well.

\---X---

Two days had passed since that incident and Hanabi was still a bit angry at Saya. Still the older woman had yet to express any sort of annoyance or distress over this. Either Saya really didn't care about Hanabi's predicament or that she just has lot patients. Hanabi didn't know whether she should be grateful that Saya was willing to put up with her crap or offended that she was ignoring her disagreement. She was pretty sure that she was more offended.

Right now they were heading down the road which was supposed to lead them towards the town of the Desert Ross. It was the furthermost outpost of the Mossenian Empire and the last and closest city to the Great Desert of Megalith Wasteland.

Hanabi could feel the heat rising even now. Sweat trickled down her brow due to the bright sun that was shining down upon them mercilessly. The vegetation around them had thinned out till the point that all they could see around them was shrubs and cactus. The heat was really bothering Hanabi but Saya was in an even worse condition.

Siraya was a cold world and the creatures' native of her world had evolved to adapt its harsh environment where the hottest recorded temperature was 10 degree. But the alarming 35 degree of this world was absolutely brutal on Saya. Sweat had totally drenched Saya's body till the point she looked like she had a bath with her clothes on. Her breath was laboured and her steps were slower than usual and this worried Hanabi to the core. She had never seen Saya in such a state and it honestly frightened her how such heat could affect her so much. Still Saya didn't complain about her situation and when confronted, she would just say, "I'm fine, Neha. Let just continue our way."

It was a few hours later that they reached the town of Desert Ross. It was a perfect example of a Wild West city. A large boulevard with wooden houses on either side with the tallest building being the church. In the western themed town, both the eastern kunoichi and the sweat drenched Sai'ore seemed really out of place as the people were giving them odd looks.

A new voice suddenly spoke behind them, which made both of them to nearly jump out of their skin.

"Greetings strangers!" the voice greeted in an overly enthusiastic voice. Saya and Hanabi were shocked to see that a short and fat man in a black suit and a hat had been standing behind them. How long was he there and how did he managed to sneak behind them was a mystery.

The Man extended his hand towards them and spoke, "I am Gorge Carson, Mayor of the Desert Ross town!" Tentatively Saya shook hands with the likely leader of the town and replied respectfully, "Saya Mahira, and this is my apprentice, Hanabi no Iga." The Sai'ore introduced herself and Hanabi to the short man.

"We don't usually get travellers here in Desert Ross, so it's good to see some new faces once in a while! Head down the road and get yourself something to drink form the tavern. Enjoy your stay!" with that the man was gone, leaving the two of them confused.

Still the idea of something to drink was not so bad, so they followed the Mayor's direction. The tavern they had entered was exactly like how you would expect form a western tavern. Wooden furnished interior with many separate hubs where people were just enjoying their stay, a single bar with a nice country music being playing in the background. The people were cheery and were surprisingly very welcoming as well. A nice change in pace.

The two of them walked towards the bar and Saya sat down heavily on the stool. The cool and shaded environment of the tavern soothed her senses. Soon the Barkeeper came over them and asked, "What can I get you?" the Japanese accent was unmistakable in the man's voice, which caused Hanabi to immediately look up to the barkeeper.

The late middle aged man was unmistakably an eastern. Upon seeing Hanabi, he was surprised as well. His surprise turned into joy pretty soon as he let out a big smile, "It's been ages since I last saw a fellow, Eastern. Well met, I am Rikimaru, but you can call me Rick. Everyone does."

"Konichiwa, Rick-san. I am Hanabi no Iga." Hanabi bowed back, herself feeling very happy on meeting one of her kin in such a remote place.

"So you're a shinobi of Iga huh? I had heard stories about you lots. I originally came from a village near Iga as well. Oh where are my manners, would you like something? I can recommend you some homemade Ramen, it is a local favourite!" At the mention of Ramen, Hanabi perked up immediately. It had been months since she had some Japanese dish and she was dying to have some.

"Yes please!"

Rick laughed merrily at this and turned towards Saya, who had her head down on the bar with heavy breaths. Her condition worried him as well and he asked in concern, "Are you aright Miss? Would you like something?"

Saya brushed off his concern, "Bring me what she takes and a jug of water as well please." The man frowned at the Sai'oren woman's answer but carried out her will anyways. Hanabi looked at Saya with concerned eyes as the older woman opened her gloves and unbuttoned her gambeson, leaving it open at the front (she is still wearing her linen white shirt underneath it). Her condition worried her even if she was still a little mad at Saya. "Saya-chan, you don't look so good."

Saya gave a small smile at Hanabi's way for her concern, "Don't worry, Neha. It's just that I haven't been in such a warm place before. My world was always covered in snow, so it would take time getting used to this extreme heat."

"You know, we don't have to do go this way. We can reach the enchanted forest by going around the desert." Hanabi argued. The two had planned to travel towards the Enchanted Elven forests of the Moniyan Empire, just above the Human Mossenian Empire. There was mainly two ways of reaching the Kingdom of Elves. Either trough the scorching Megalith desert, or by the freezing Mountain pass.

But the older woman shook her head, "The mountain pass would take too much time, if we stick to the path. We will reach the forest in just a week."

"But what about you?" Hanab asked. The Sai'ore just smiled, "Don't worry about me, Neha. I will manage. It's important for us to reach the enchanted forest and I would prefer not to waste time."

There it was again. It was not secret that the older woman was still doing this for Hanabi. The Sai'ore's nature of putting other's needs before her own was both a good and a bad thing. She would always think of others, never considering her own comfort or well being, all with the excuse of, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

This was also correct as Saya's powers made her virtually invulnerable, yet still Hanabi didn't like it. It made Saya feel like a scapegoat, an unending and expendable means of getting things done. It made Hanabi sick on her stomach and made her feel very bad. Saya's caring nature made it so difficult of Hanabi to stay angry at her.

Rick arrived pretty soon with their orders. Placing down a bowl of Ramen noodles before each of them and a jug of water for Saya. Hanabi watched attentively as Saya drank the water vigorously, after that, the woman actually poured the remaining water on her head. The water drenched her head and torsos as Saya let out a sigh of relief. If fact Hanabi was sure that she saw steam coming off of Saya's back. The Sai'ore was really not meant to be in such hot weather.

As for the Sai'ore, she was now in a much better condition than before. With her body now stabilized, Saya then looked at the food before her. A bowl filled with a sort of soup with countless threads of wheat, topped with some vegetables and meat. A very interesting cuisine indeed. Saya asked some eating utensil but all she got was two wooden sticks called chop sticks.

Baffled by the odd choice of utensil, Saya asked "So.....how am I supposed to eat with this?" totally clueless of what to do with the chop sticks.

Hanabi couldn't help by laugh at this. At least there were some things that she was better at then Saya. Turning towards Saya, Hanabi gave her a smug smirk, "Watch and learn, Sensei!"

Saya watched with amazement as Hanabi held the chopsticks in her hand. Using the skills honed by a lifetime of experience, Hanabi plucked the noodles with the utensil, using the chopsticks as if it was but an extension of her fingers. Awe and admiration was evident in Saya's eyes, "Akambani!" (Fascinating) she muttered breathlessly.

Hanabi grinned cheekily and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment at Saya's compliment, "It's nothing." Which was true. Because for Hanabi, using a chop sticks was a child's play, but for Saya, it was a whole new and fascinating way of eating.

Saya tried to do imitate what Hanabi did with her own chop sticks. As expected, she failed and Saya laughed nervously. Hanabi patted her back in reassurance, "You did well for a first timer. I'm sure you will learn in no time." To which Saya smiled back at her brightly. The bitterness they had between them totally forgotten and they shared a heartfelt warm laugh after days of grumpiness.

Rick was kind enough to give Saya a fork, and then she was able to enjoy the Eastern dish without much problem. Hanabi too dug in her own bowl of Ramen. It had been months since she last had Ramen and Hanabi was not disappointed. Although it was quite colder than a more traditional hot steaming Ramen **(Which would be a bad idea near a desert)** it was still had retained its delicious taste and Hanabi couldn't be more thankful. Saya liked the dish as well and praised the bartender Rick for his skills.

The two ate their food in relative silence as the only sounds between them were the occasional slurping sound they made.

Still a thought was nagging Hanabi, but she didn't really have the heart to voice it out. Not when they were finally having some normal time after days of bitterness. But Saya's quick eyes had already noticed Hanabi's unease and knew exactly what it was about. Sighing out loudly, Saya spoke, "I know you want to. Don't hold yourself back."

Hanabi flinched, feeling like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Since she had been found out, the kunoichi decided that there was no point in hiding, "Why? Why will you not teach me anymore? Did I do something wrong?"

Saya didn't look at Hanabi and replied firmly, "You are not ready, Neha."

"Then when will I be ready?" Hanabi questioned heatedly. This caused all of the people in the Tavern to look towards them curiously at her outburst. Feeling guilty and self-conscious, Hanabi sulked back on her chair and mumbled, "I'm sorry....... I just don't understand."

The older woman sighed and rubbed her temple. Finally turning towards her apprentice, she requested, "Would you please take out the book I gave you and open the twentieth page?" Her request seemed odd and totally out of context but Hanabi carried it out anyways.

The kunoichi took out the book form her bag and opened the said page. It was a page that Saya was still to teach her and Hanabi could feel excitement brew inside her. Saya then instructed further, "Read the first line for me please."

Hanabi nodded and squinted her eyes while trying to decipher the Sai'oren alphabets that made up the sentence in the book, it said, "Adrin Krad'a nidran kara........ Su'ee, Dhara'he mitran Jana?"

She understood the two works Su'ee which meant Calm, and Dhara'he meaning patient. The others were still unknown to her so she looked up at Saya for guidance. The older woman nodded, somewhat proud that Hanabi could at least read Sai'ore. She explained, "Too much anger is destructive.... Calmness and Patients are your friends. This is your answer, meha Neha. This is what you must understand."

"But I do understand!"

Saya let out a small chuckle at this. Gently she patted Hanabi's head like an elder would a child, "We will see, Hana. We will see."

Her words confusing Hanabi even more she already was............


	23. The Megalith Desert

Deep within the kingdom of Abyss-  
  


Thamuz the fire demon Lord looked furiously at Alice. She had returned after her expedition to capture the Zeno and when the Demon queen told them of her results during one of their meetings, he was very less than thrilled. 

"What do you mean you failed? You had a whole hoard of Abyssal forces and the spear of Quiescence with you!" he bellowed angrily.

Alice cringed and massaged her hurting ears at this. "Ouch, Not so loud! But I'm afraid my news is true. We underestimated the Zeno and her powers." The Blood demon reported nonchalantly. Her demeanour calm and uncaring but internally she was battling her own internal war and the rest were oblivious of this. 

"I knew sending you was a mistake. You Blood Demons are never the ones to get jobs done, just feeding on blood and running away like cowards." Thamuz hissed venomously at the Demon Queen.  
  


"If you Fire Demons are so powerful and mighty, why don't you go and do it yourself!" Alice snapped all of a sudden. Her internal struggles finally making her lose control over her temper. This caused all of the members of the meeting to be shocked. The Blood demon Queen had always known to be calm and laid back, never the one to act aggressively so her outburst had surprised them all. In fact, Alice was surprised herself. 

"That's enough for now." A sweet and bubbly voice echoed throughout the room. Everyone tensed when the Abyssal Witch Selena strode into the conference room with skipping steps. She stood behind Alice and put her arms around the Demon Queen's shoulders, "Can't you see Dear Alice is depressed? Don't be mean!" she spoke with a pout and a sickly sweet voice. Her words sending shivers down their spines as her unpredictable nature kept them all on their edges, especially Alice as she was the closest to the volatile girl.

"But what Alice says is right. Why don't you go and give it a try Thamuz? I really want to meet this Zeno." Selena suggested while looking at the Fire demon directly.  
Her gaze would've unnerved most of the abyss dwellers by now, yet the Lava Lord didn't falter at her gaze, "We don't have time for that Witch. Our numbers are growing shorter with each defeat. We need to save our strength and bolster our numbers for 'His' arrival. Not chase after some worthless Zeno!" 

His courage was admirable for Thamuz still refused to cower before Selena. She might be favoured by the Abyss but he still held his pride and was not gonna bow so easily. Many expected Selena to lash out at any moment but none had expected the Abyssal Witch to giggle. Selena let go of Alice and pace around the conference room, "The Lava Lord right. We have more important matters to attend to. And I am pretty sure that Dear Alice wouldn't want anything to happen to her new Zeno friend. Not after how she healed her." The night half-elf smiled playfully and pointed at Alice's arm. 

Although mostly covered by her braces, the bandages Saya had tied on Alice's wounds were still somewhat visible. Upon realizing what Selena was implying, Alice hid her arm immediately but alas the damage was already done. They could almost smell it on her.  
A malice filled smile appeared on Thamuz's muzzle, "I change mind. I would very much like to meet this Zeno friend of yours." 

Alice couldn't help but feel a frown appear on her brow. 'What have I done?' 

(Note:- This happened six weeks before the events of chapter 20)   
  


\---X--- 

With Hanabi and Saya- 

Due to Saya's condition, it was clear that they wouldn't be able to cross the desert so easily. But there was another way how they could pull this off however. Although the day time of the Desert was excruciatingly hot, the Night was bone freezing cold. As a creature of Siraya, Saya was far more tolerant to cold and proposed that they travel at night. Hanabi was not really fond of the idea of freezing desert at night but she knew before hand of what heat can do to Saya and the kunoichi really didn't want to put Saya in danger. So she agreed to follow the plan. 

They rested in the town of Desert Ross for an entire day, gathering necessary supplies and items that would aid them in their journey through the unforgiving desert. 

Soon the night fell and the duo of teacher and student were ready to set out for their journey. The townies of Desert Ross were a bit saddened that their guests would leave so soon but they understood that the two would have to go eventually. That didn't stop them from being kind and welcoming. The entire town actually arrived to see them off. Many even gave them various souvenirs as a gift and asked them to visit again. Their generosity warmed Saya's heart and she promised to visit soon. The Mayor was there too and he personally shook hand with both of them, "Well, I guess you will now be off on your own grand adventure. But I must warn you, there is a reason other than the heat as to why this route is not used too much. Never stray away from the stone road or you may never return." He spoke seriously. A warning that Saya took at heart. 

The Journey through the desert would take them about a week or two so they kept a steady pace. They would travel all night and find shelter under one of the various boulders and stone arches that littered the desert during the day. Three days had passed and the two had been following the same routine. The journey, although uneventful, was very perilous. 

The Night was freezing, thus Saya had to be extra careful with Hanabi so she wouldn't suffer from hypothermia. This duty would then shift towards Hanabi in the day time as the human would try her best to ease Saya's extreme cases of overheating body under the burning sun. Even when under the shade of a huge rock that they had taken shelter under, Hanabi could see that Saya would get rashes which would heal instantly, only to get them again and prolonging her suffering. The Desert was constantly hurting Saya, yet still the older woman didn't complain. Hanabi was both respectful and jealous of Saya's patients but on top of that, her main emotion was still concern. 

'How long can she manage?' 

The forth night had been unusually chilly as Saya, Hanabi and their faithful horse Nhari traversed the now cold desert. The Sai'ore could hear Hanabi's cluttering teeth as they walked down the stone path through the desert. Without a second thought, Saya put her gambeson over Hanabi, surprising the human girl. Although the warmth of the extra garment soothed Hanabi to no end, she was still not keen on the prospect of her friend out in the cold while she was all warm and comfy. 

"But Saya-chan. You'll get cold too." 

As expected, The Sai'ore shook her head, "I may not handle heat too well, but I can tolerate cold much more. Besides, you need it more than me and I would hate to see something happen to you, Neha.", She answered sincerely. Her words warmed as well as stung Hanabi. It warmed her up because she was so grateful that she had such a caring friend and it stung her because it served as a reminder. A reminder of how selfish she really was. How could she not? The Sai'ore had done so much for her yet still Hanabi had done so less for her, unable to repay Saya at all.  
Refusing to give up just yet, Hanabi jogged closer towards Saya and spoke sternly, "Absolutely not! We can at least share right?" 

Her words shocked Saya but she didn't protest. She knew better than to argue with Hanabi when she made up her mind. Thus now the two found themselves huddled close with Saya's gambeson draped over their bodies like an improvised jacket. Saya's warm body sent blissful waves of satisfaction down Hanabi's body and heart as well. Scooting closer, Hanabi let out a content breath and purred, "I could get used to this." 

Although a bit taken aback by her words initially, Saya smiled as well. Putting her arm around Hanabi, Saya pulled the shorter girl closer and spoke softly, "So could I."  
Lost in their bliss, both were oblivious that the huge stone arches and canyons that surrounded them were gradually thinning out and were being replaced by sandy dune filled landscape as they travelled deeper into the desert. 

After several hours, Saya could see the sun slowly peeking up the horizon and the temperature around them started rising gradually. All of a sudden, a jolt of hot wind blew past her, causing them to pause for a while. Then they saw it. Like the darkness of a thunder storm, they saw a colossal cloud of sand raging towards them with great speed. The air around them grew hotter as the sixty meter high cloud of sand drew closer and closer. There was no mistaking it. It was a sand storm. 

"We should find cover." Suggested Saya and Hanabi agreed immediately. Luck had been on their said because they were able to find a cave which proved to be an excellent shelter for the two. There they waited for the sand storm to pass by, which carried on for the whole freaking day!  
The Storm was long and violent as the two could actually feel the ground tremble as the wind and sand beated against the stones outside. It was only during the evening that the storm calmed down and the three occupants of the cave crawled out of their shelter. What they saw crushed their will. 

The Storm had completely covered the entire vicinity in sand. The road was no longer even visible as it was now buried under foot deep sand and they had no way to find it. Hanabi's mouth went dry at this and she looked up towards Saya with fearful eyes, "What do we do now, Saya-chan?" 

The older woman was worried as well. She looked back where the road was supposed to be and found that the sand had indeed covered every inch of the road. Still she kept her cool and answered calmly, "The sun set in that direction...." Saya said while pointing her left side. "North is that." She then pointed her front, "If we go straight ahead, I think we can reach our destination." Saya hypothesised. 

"Really?", Hanabi asked hopefully. The answer she got crushed her hopes.   
"I'm not sure." Saya admitted truthfully but then she turned towards Hanabi and spoke with determination, "But I assure you, Neha. I won't let anything to happen to you." The situation was dire, yet still Hanabi decided to trust her friend. Even if she was a bit uncertain, Hanabi nodded and replied tentatively, "Okay." 

Thus, they travelled further into the desert, not even knowing whether they were going in the right way or not. But the night was easy to endure; the day was still to come. 

Soon the sun glared down upon them and with it came its unforgiving heat. According to what they had planned, now would've been their time to find shelter and rest for the day, but sadly fate decided to be cruel on them that day. There was no solid stone around them, only endless dunes of sand which couldn't be used as a shelter. Saya looked longingly at the closest shade that were the canyons from where they had started their journey last night and it was at least a hundred miles away from their current position. So there was no turning back now. They really had run out of luck. 

Steeling herself, Saya announced, "We travel through the day as well." 

The blazing hot rays of the sun burnt them like hell fire as the two women and one horse walked through the scorching sands. Hanabi and Saya had now donned on a loose fitting dress that covered their entire body and protected them from the sun, an item Saya had thoughtfully bought form the town. Yet still it was not so effective in protecting them from the actual heat and their progress was much slower than what they could cover at night. Hanabi was sweating heavily under her clothes and her mouth was completely dry due to lack of water. But Saya was in a much worst condition. Her clothes were totally drenched and she had sweated so much that she could no longer sweat. Her breaths were laboured as her lungs were being filled with hot air that felt like it was burning her from within. This dry desert was a total opposite of the extreme tundra of Siraya and her body was suffering heavily for this. But still she didn't complain. She just endured. This was all but temporary. All she had to do was last till the evening and she would heal and be as good as new. Saya's primary objective was Hanabi's safety and she wanted to reach a safe place as soon as possible. 

Saya's mind knew that the damage she receives was temporary and that it would heal in an instant. Yet her body didn't know this. It felt all the pain and the burning sensations. Dehydration was making her head woozy and her vision was getting blurry. Her mind knew that she had the capacity to endure, yet her body still had its limits. It betrayed her and Saya was powerless to stop it.  
Hanabi nearly had a heart attack when Saya suddenly fell down on the ground like a sack of grains. 

"Saya!" the kunoichi cried and was immediately by her side. The first thing she found out was that Saya's body was burning up. Hanabi immediately remove the older woman's veil that covered her head and her heart dropped. 

Saya's once flawless porcelain white skin was now pale red. Her lips and skin was very dry and there were several severe rashes and blisters all over her body. She didn't need to be a professional physician to know that Saya was in a critical condition and Hanabi had no idea what to do. 

With great effort, Hanabi put the unconscious form of Saya on the horse and looked around, "Okay calm down. ", she repeated to herself and tried to think of the next sensible thing to do. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't. Her friend was having the worst case of heat stroke, of course she cannot calm down. 

"Wait, I must head north. That's it! North!....Uh, the sun rises in the east and sets at west, so North must be...." Hanabi looked for the sun to determine directions, but she found that the sun was now directly on top of her head. 

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHICH WAY IS NORTH NOW!" she yelled in frustration.  
A pained moan brought Hanabi out of her anger. Saya, she was mumbling in her sleep. Her voice was still in pain but the words she muttered was, "No, not now....... Neha needs me." 

Even in such a condition, still all she worried about was Hanabi. It made the human feel even more guilty and ashamed of herself. Shaking her head, Hanabi looked up in determination. Saya was in pain and she needed help and Hanabi was not going to stand idly by and leave her friend alone. So the kunoichi guided the horse with Saya on top of it through the desert. She knew if she reached north than she can probably help Saya. 

Yet she knew not where to go. Her bad sense of direction betrayed her at every point. The lack of direction was frustrating and the sea of sands which surrounded her seemed unending and confusing, Hanabi had no idea what to do and she was pretty sure she was going in circles. The heat was unbearable and the horse collapsed on the sand. The kunoichi couldn't take it anymore and she fell to her knee as well. She had used up all her water and was now very parched from dehydration. Her head was dizzy and her body was tired of all the walking.  
Slowly she crawled towards Saya and held her friend close. Seeing the state of her once proud and strong friend brought tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Saya-chan. I failed you........ Again."  
The Human could feel it. Her fatigue was taking toll on her and the sun was sucking out all the strength that was left from her. Hanabi's vision was blurring and she could feel her consciousness slipping away. 

Then she saw something before her. A silhouette, in an odd shape of a bat, and it was coming towards her. Hanabi was too tired to see what it exactly was, but she did let out a single raspy request, "Help us, please." 

With that her world went dark.......................


	24. The people of the Wilderness

_She blocked yet another attack but her Sensei was being exceptionally brutal in her training today. The old wrinkled man with a sour face looked down on a six year old girl and scoffed,_

_"This is pathetic Hanabi, get up and try again once more."_

_Young Hanabi was hurt all over and had a few bruises on her body but still she stood up and tried once again. But still she couldn't land a proper hit on her Scarlet_ _Shinobi_ _Master. Once again she was thrown to the ground by her Sensei and he looked down at her with disgusted eyes, "I should've known. You are clearly not ready."_

_The young_ _kunoichi_ _in training lay broken and beaten on the ground but the Sensei's words snapped something inside her. Screaming in rage, the little girl stood up and charged towards her master once again._

_...._

_Now we find a much older Hanabi sparring with another figure clad head to toe in a black_ _shinobi_ _outfit. The_ _kunoichi_ _tried to hit the man but yet again she was unable to do so._   
_"Why can't I hit you?" she growled angrily but the man suddenly appeared behind her and karate chopped the back of her head. It was enough to put her down as the man stood beside her and chuckled, "Such temper yet still too weak. You should train more." his words angering her even further._

_Everything around faded away till the only thing that remained was Hanabi alone in the endless void as her thoughts consumed her._

_"You are not ready."_

_"Still too weak."_

_These words echoed inside her mind over and over again till the point that it became so loud that it was unbearable. "Stop it!" Hanabi yelled while tears fell down her eyes and she held her head in pain._

_Then a new figure emerged from the darkness and it immediately caught_ _Hanabi's_ _attention. She soon found out that the new figure was none other than Saya, standing at her arms length with a serene smile on her face._

_But right now, even her serenity seemed to be mocking Hanabi. With eyes full of angry tears, she shouted, "Are you here to tell me the same thing? That I'm not ready? What did I do wrong? Where have I made a mistake? TELL ME!"_

_Yet Saya just stood there unfazed by her outburst. The older woman simply gave a warm smile and opened her arms ever_ _welcomingly_ _at Hanabi._

_The Gesture made Hanabi finally break down and hug the older woman. Wrapping her arms around her desperately, the ninja girl sobbed in anguish and frustration. "I don't understand, Saya-chan. Am I really so weak?" she asked between her sobs._

_The_ _Sai'ore_ _gently wiped away all of_ _Hanabi's_ _tears and cupped the young_ _kunoichi's_ _cheeks, "_ _Adrin_ _Krad'a_ _nidran_ _kara......_ _Su'ee_ _,_ _Dhara'he_ _mitran_ _Jana." The ancient empress rephrased calmly._

_Hanabi pondered what she heard and repeated as well, "Too much anger is destructive....... Calmness and patients are your friends?"_

_Saya smile at this and gently kissed_ _hanabi's_ _forehead, "I believe in you,_ _meha_ _Neha. Now you must believe in yourself."_

_Then a bright light engulfed her and she was blinded instantly._

\---X---

  
Hanabi woke up with several long pants. Her head was wet with all the sweating she had did and she held her head with both of her hands.

"What a dream." She mumbled to herself. Suddenly her memories caught up with her and she looked around frantically. It was quite dark around her and the only source of light in the place she was current in was a single flickering candle. She seemed to be in some sort of camp, lying on some furry bed roll which was awfully comfortable. Oh how she wished to just lie back down and bask in its warmth but then again she had more trivial matters at hand. Like where exactly was she? How did she get here? And most importantly, where was Saya?

The Last question raised alarms to blare loudly and it caused her to immediately spring up to her feet from the furry bed roll and entered into her panic mode, "Saya!" she did the most sensible thing that she could think of at that time and bolted out of the camp.   
What she saw before her was not what she expected.

(Note:- its still night right now)

A tribe of nomads, that's the first thing that came to her mind when she saw the various camps and camels along with several tribesmen sitting around a huge bonfire. They were all looking at her direction with shocked faces and this caused Hanabi to feel even more at edge.

"I see that you're awake!" a voice exclaimed from behind Hanabi and caused her to jump in fright. On instinct Hanabi lashed out and punched who ever that was behind her. Her punch connected but it didn't seem to do much as the figure didn't even flinch.

"Wow, for someone so tiny, you really are strong, Shortie." The figure let out an amused snicker. Now Hanabi got a good look at the person she had punched and she immediately regretted it.   
Towering behind Hanabi was a tall tribeswoman. She had fiery orange mane like hair and her attire was nothing but fur and the most noticeable trait of the woman her body. She was ripped!

  
With strong toned legs and arms along with a freaking six pack abs that even men would be jealous of, she was a beast of a woman. Hell Hanabi was sure she could hear, "Ayayayaya!!!" in a distance.

Seeing the Kunoichi tense even more under her gaze the giant woman laughed out loud, "Fear not Shortie, I mean you no harm. The name is Hilda, chief huntress of the people of Wilderness." She spoke and extended her hand towards the ninja.

Eyeing her hand with uncertainty, Hanabi slowly shook it while introducing herself as well. "Hanabi no Iga."

"Fair enough. It's good to see you awake and all, seeing as we found you, your horse and your friend passed out in the middle of the desert."

Upon hearing about her friend, Hanabi was quick to react.

"Where is Saya? Is she okay?" the girl asked desperately to Hilda.

"Easy there shortie. Come on, I'll take you to her." With that, Hilda beckoned Hanabi to follow her and the kunoichi did so immediately.

The Tribal woman led her towards another camp. Hanabi was surprised to see that their horse Nhari was sitting just outside the camp where Saya was supposedly resting in. They both stopped on their tracks when the old war horse glared at their direction aggressively.   
Hilda chuckled at this, "Don't know where you got her but your horse is a mean old girl. Hasn't let anyone in since she recovered, perhaps you can have a better luck with her." With this the muscular woman patted Hanabi on her back, causing her to nearly tumble over because of Hilda's sheer strength.

Rubbing her soar back, Hanabi slowly approached the camp but then Nhari stood in between her and the camp. The old mare glared down at the Kunoichi and stomped her hoof. The message was clear, "Leave her alone."

True that the horse unnerved and scared Hanabi but right now, she didn't have the time or luxury to be scared. "I know you just want the best for her. But please, she is my friend, and I worried for her." She pleaded to the equine.

Nhari looked upon her with judgemental eyes but finally let out a sigh. She may not like the human girl but they both cared deeply for Saya so reluctantly she cleared the way but not without a last warning glare.

Hanabi gave Nhari a grateful nod and walked into the camp.

It was much like camp in which she had woke up in. Quite dark with some candles lighting the inside. The Kunoichi looked around till her gaze fell upon what she was looking for.

There on the furry bedroll, lay Saya. Her once pale red skin had regained its original porcelain white colour. There were not wounds or marks on her body as her powers had healed it all entirely. Her forest green hair was now left open and lay scattered around her. Her face held a calm and serene expression, one that Hanabi had not seen on Saya's beautiful face for a long time. Slowly she came closer towards Saya and knelt beside her.

Saya seemed so calm and in peace, a total contrast from what she had been in the day and it relieved Hanabi's heart. Then again she remembers the state in which Saya was back in the desert. So weak, pained and defeated. She remembers how powerless she was to help Saya and it sickened her. They should never have come here. They should've taken the other way to the Moniyan Empire. A few weeks worth of time saved was not worth the torment Saya was going through.

A single drop of tear spilled out of her eye. It flow down her cheek and then dropped down to the ground by her chin. Hanabi's tear touched the ground with a slight 'twak'.

A soft sound, yet it was enough to trigger her senses. Glowing green eyes opened suddenly in the dark and looked directly at Hanabi. Saya immediately sat up from the bed roll and held Hanabi's shoulder, "Are you alright, Neha? Has something happened? Are you hurt?" she didn't delay to bombard the human with concerned questions. Not only was she the one to be bedridden but still she was the one to panic in concern for Hanabi.

Gritting her teeth, Hanabi shuddered in frustration "B-Baka..." she muttered lowly. Saya frowned in confusion but was suddenly thrown back when Hanabi tackled her with a hug. "Baka!" Hanabi sobbed loudly while hugging Saya tightly as if her life depended on it.

Saya's heart ached upon seeing Hanabi in such a vulnerable state. The naive, hot headed and cheery girl was nothing but a weeping mess and she blamed herself for it, "I'm so sorry, Hanabi. I couldn't keep my word. If only I could've endured the heat I......"

"Don't you dare complete that sentence!" Hanabi snapped heatedly, causing Saya's eyes to widen in surprise. "Don't you dare say sorry. I should be sorry not you!" the kunoichi let go of Saya and looked down in shame, "I was unable to help you and I have failed you again and again. I should be sorry not you." She said while sobbing all the way. Saya hugged her tightly and reassured her as much as she could, "Hush now child. It's not your fault." The girl broke down in Saya's embrace as the older woman stroke Hanabi's back, letting out all of her despair and frustration.

Oh what would the girl do without her Saya wondered.

Finally Hanabi's sobs died down. Slowly Saya held the younger girl's chin and made her look up. Tenderly Saya wiped away all of Hanabi's tears, all the while never leaving her eyes. Those beautiful ocean blue eyes. Saya never wanted this, to make Hanabi cry. Gently Saya gave a light peck on the girl's forehead. A simple and sweet gesture and it seemed to do wonders. It comforted Hanabi more than any words could. It was a reassurance, a promise. A promise that didn't needed words to convey. Finally a small smile came of Hanabi's lips, the one that Saya loves so much. She always wanted to see her as the happy and childish young girl that Saya had come to cherish so much. The human girl in her arms now meant so much to her that she couldn't even describe it in words. She was her student, her friend, her duty, her purpose, her anchor.................... Her sole reason to exist in this world where she had nothing left.

This made a new thought come across Saya's mind, 'What would I do without her?'

"How romantic, I might even shed a tear or two." A new voice called in a teasing tone.   
Saya and Hanabi immediately let go of each other and looked at the intruder. They found out that it was none other than Hilda with a wide grin on her face. Blushing crimson red upon being caught in such a close position, Hanabi whined pitifully, "Hilda-san!"   
The brutish woman's grin turned into a full blown laughter at this and Saya stood confused as ever.

"Some one you know?" she asked to Hanabi who hid her face behind Saya's back and answered, "That's Hilda, she and her tribe saved us from the desert."   
With a new found respect, Saya stood up from her current position and strode towards the Huntress of Wilderness. "Many thanks for saving us, Miss Hilda." The Sai'ore thanked her with a slight bow as a gesture of good will and respect. As for Hilda, she sized Saya up and let out a low whistle, "Wow, you've been bless by the trees, Elf? You're a lot taller than I expected."

Which was true as Saya was as tall, if not slightly taller than Hilda herself. "Still I got more bite." The large human woman smirked and flexed her biceps, emphasizing her heavy and muscular figure contrasting Saya's tall and slender figure. The Sai'ore simply smiled good naturedly at this, "Indeed Miss Hilda. You must have quite a work out session."

Hilda laughed at this, "Sister, I never go to the gym."

The tribal woman then looked out of the camp and announced, "Looks like the dawn will be upon us shortly. I suggest we prepare to get moving."

"Moving? Moving where?" asked Hanabi with a frown.

"Well anywhere out of this bloody desert of course.".......................


	25. Way through the sands

As the sun began to climb higher in the sky, so did Hanabi's worry increased because when the sun came back, so did its heat and with its heat came Saya's suffering.

Taking pity on her, Hilda was generous enough to offer Saya to rest for the day in one of the many shaded caravan of her tribe. Saya was not readily accepting the idea however, insisting that she could walk on her own but a heated glare from Hanabi was enough to shut her down much to Hilda's amusement.

The tribe form the wilderness soon packed all of their things and now was making their way through the harsh desert once again. Hilda was the one to lead the tribe with her caravan at the front with the rest of the people following her. Saya was in Hilda's wagon so naturally Hanabi insisted to accompany the muscular woman. Even their horse Nhari was trotting beside the cart and kept a close eye over her master.

Not much could've been done about the heat but the shade of the caravan did protected Saya from the sun. Although a bit better than the previous day, the severity of Saya's condition was still high. Hilda looked upon the Sai'ores sorry condition with remorse while Hanabi was trying her best to keep her friend cool as possible.

"That's the worst case of Heat Sickness I've ever seen." Hilda commented looking back at her two passengers.

The kunoichi was waving a fan towards Saya's direction in an attempt to help her replied, "I never imagine Saya-chan would suffer so badly. I kind of knew she didn't like hot places, but I never expected this................. I never wanted this." Her voice filled with guilt and sorrow. The two stayed in silence with the only sounds around them being the clomping of horse hooves, the creeks of the aged wooden cart and Saya's laboured breaths.

Hanabi had been fanning Saya for hours straight and now her arms hurt like hell. Her arms were in pain and they begged for some rest, yet the kunoichi refused to stop. Finally having enough of this, Hilda sighed and turned back towards the two. She threw a towel and a full water skin towards Hanabi, causing the young human to be confused beyond words. The muscular woman turned back towards the road and took a firmer hold of the reins, "Use them. It will help her feel better."

Nodding, Hanabi took the water skin and proceeded to help Saya drink the water, oblivious of the true purpose of the water. Till Hilda knew what Hanabi had did, Saya had already emptied the water skin and the muscular woman couldn't even protest. Face palming with a sigh, Hilda mumbled, "That was not for drinking, Shortie."

This caused Hanabi to frown.

The woman than threw another water skin at Hanabi and instructed, "Pour the water on the towel till its soaking wet." The kunoichi had no idea why she was to do this but did as she was told. The towel was now nice and soaked. Hanabi was about to squeeze out the excess water but Hilda stopped her, "Don't! We cannot afford to waste too much water. Now wrap that towel around your friend's head." This seemed to do the trick as the wet and cool fabric soothed Saya like none other. Her expression was no longer pained and she was much more at ease.

Hanabi would've jumped in joy had she not been on a moving caravan. Hilda chuckled at her antics and instructed further, "When the towel dries up, just put water on it again."

The kunoichi snorted and declared, "Of course I knew that."

The muscular woman laughed out loud at this, "Sure you did." She teased causing Hanabi to become red in anger, making Hilda laugh even more.

They stayed in silence for a while; Hilda noticed how Hanbai was constantly at the 'Elf-like' woman's side. Never leaving her out of her sight and constantly working to help her feel better. It was evident that the two shared a very deep bond and it intrigued the huntress so she couldn't stop herself.

"She must really mean a lot to you." Hilda tried to start a conversation.

Hanabi nodded slowly, "Saya has been a very good friend to me........ My only friend actually, she has always helped me and cared for me in the small amount of time we knew each other. We may not have known each other for years but..... She really means a lot for me."

Her words brought a small smile on Hilda's lips.

"So, How exactly did you two met?" she asked the kunoichi.

Hanabi fidgeted nervously, "It's a........ Long story." She spoke hesitantly, not sure whether or not she should tell Hilda or not. The older and more muscular seemed oblivious of her unease and replied casually, "Plenty of time, Shortie. Might get our minds of the heat." Making it clear that she was going to be persistent.

Letting out a sigh, Hanabi sat cross-legged and turned towards the Huntress, "It was two months ago in an event with some Goblins........."

\---X---

To say Hanabi didn't like her time with Hilda would be a lie. Surprisingly, she really enjoyed telling Hilda of all the adventures that she and Saya had had ever since they met each other that fateful day.

Contrary to her appearance, Hilda was actually a very good listener and she too shared some for her hunting adventures with the kunoichi. Having someone to talk to like this was a very nice change for Hanabi and she really started to like Hilda's company.

"So you tried to ride a boar?" asked Hanabi in disbelief, playful sceptism evident in her voice upon hearing one of Hilda's stories.

"Aye, was pretty high that day, too much ale." The brutish woman laughed heartily. Hanabi giggled at this as well, shaking her head she mutters, "You're crazy."

Hilda narrowed her eyes at the shorter girl and grinned, "Well I wasn't the one to race a horse now was I?"

Glaring half-heartedly at her new friend, Hanabi puffed her cheeks.

"In my defence, it was Saya's idea."

"And you agreed."

Playfully, Hanabi punched Hilda's shoulder and muttered, "Baka." Causing Hilda to laugh out loudly, her cheerfulness was really contagious as soon Hanabi laughed alongside her.

\---X---

The tribe covered a great distance through the desert. The sun was now setting and the temperature dropped along with its decent. The people were tired and so it was a perfect time to set up a camp.

It didn't take long for the tribes men to change the lifeless barren ground into a lively community. With about ten camps with a population of over thirty people, it was almost like a small nomadic village.

Now in a much better condition with the sun down, Saya decided to take a stroll. The whole day she had been doing nothing but stay stationary on a moving vehicle and her body felt a bit soar and some exercise would do her good.

She walked around the camp area, greeting and helping many of the tribesmen as much as she could. On her way, she did hear a peculiar noises coming from one of the camps at the edge of the settlement. Curiosity got the best of her and she went closer. Saya could hear murmurs of some people conversing with each other in a hushed tone.

The Sai'ore didn't want to eavesdrop but somehow she had a feeling that this would be important and couldn't help herself. Silently she peered inside the camp from a small hole on the cloth camp, what she saw shocked her.

Some of the tribesmen were cutting down a large chunk meat into smaller pieces. Now the sight would not have been so disturbing but what did disturbed her was the fact that there was a severed head of a horse on the ground as well. Putting two and two together, it was not so hard to figure out that the meat they were butchering was horse meat.

An image of Nhari flashed inside Saya's mind. Her faithful horse, one that was so loyal and protective of her and to think that humans would kill and eat such valuable and loyal creatures confused the Zeno to her core.

The men were talking amongst themselves and Saya focused her sharp ears to hear what they were saying.

"This is the third one this month. How many more do we have to kill?" one of the men spoke remorsefully.

"You think I like doing this? I had raised this one since she was but a filly." The other one snapped, anger and guilt clear as crystal in his voice.

"What choice do we have anyways? We have no other way to feed our people..."

Saya nearly jumped out of her skin when someone called her from behind.

"Ah, there you are!" the Sai'ore turned around and found out that it was Hilda with an ever beaming smile on her face. That faded however when she saw Saya's expression. The huntress sighed and beckoned Saya to follow her, "I'll explain."

The Ex-empress nodded and followed her wordlessly. The two walked through the bustling and lively camp area but the atmosphere between them was exactly opposite of what surrounded them.

An uncomfortable silence lingered between them but Hilda was not hesitant to break it, "My people are originally from the west side of the desert, where the land is not endless grains of sand but majestic tall stones. It was a harsh place to live in, but it was still home." Saya could almost taste the longingness in Hilda's vice as she spoke this. Carefully, Saya asked, "What happened?"

Hilda shook her head, "It happened so fast that no one knew what happened."

"The beasts....... They just went feral and attacked our village for many days straight. It was as if something had possessed them and twisted their mind." Saya nodded her head as she had seen similar occurrence in the Dark forest as well.

"Then 'they' attacked." Hilda hissed venomously. The sudden malice in the heartily woman surprised Saya, "Who?"

The Huntress balled her fist and hissed, "The Abyss dwellers and the Fire lord was with them as well. They over runned my village, Kicked us out of our own home." Hilda took a huge breath to calm herself, "We have been travelling ever since."

"Our food is dwindling alarmingly, now we have to resort to eating our horses just to get by." Hilda stopped and looked out in the vast endless sea of sands. "The Abyss had never been so bold before, first Mossenia then the Megalith. They are up to something, I can feel it. Something big is going on and we don't have a clue of what it is." Her words making Saya wonder, _'Where they still after her?'_

Hilda's once enraged expression then turned into a sad one, "It hurts, you know, to be homeless like this. No place to go, to belong."

The Sai'ore knew what Hilda was talking about. Having lost her home world as well, perhaps she understood what Hilda was going through more than anyone. Looking up at the sky, she mutters, "Yes, I know, an emptiness that has no cure." Hilda nodded at this, "Perfectly described." They understood the predicament they were in, they understood their pains. This was enough to forge a new found kin-ship towards each other, one made of sympathy and understanding.

"Well, we will just have to find a new one then, a new place to call home." Hilda declared with her hands on her hips. Her words carried optimism and a sign of hope still burned in her being. Saya respected that, "Then I shall help you with everything I can, Miss Hilda."

The muscular woman laughed at this and patted Saya's back good naturedly, "Just Hilda is fine, sister. Come now, I think Shortie wants to see you." At the mention of Hanabi, Saya perked up and followed the huntress without delay.

\---X---

Night was at its peak and the entire tribe had gathered around a huge bonfire. To lighten the mood up, the people were singing their traditional tribal song while many danced around the fire.

The mood was light hearted and jolly as people were laughing and having a very good time, it was as if they had never gone through any hardships throughout the day and the fatigue had been forgotten. But Saya knew the truth and could respect that these people still held on to the hope that things will be better.

Hanabi was sitting amongst the tribe while listening to the music. It was her first time hearing Celtic music and so she was really fascinated by it. Her blue eyes sparkled with curiosity of a child as she listened with upmost attention, absorbing the soothing music into her very being.

Quietly, Saya went towards her and took a seat besides the kunoichi, "Enjoying the music?" she asked.

Hanabi was a bit startled at first but relaxed as soon as she realized who had approached her. "I am actually. This music is so different than what we play back in home. It's soothing and exhilarating at the same time, how is that even possible? And where had you run off to anyways? I had been looking for you."

Saya shrugged and answered, "I needed to stretch my legs a bit." The Kunoichi nodded in an understanding nature at this.

Soon a delicious aroma filled the area which made Hanabi's stomach grumble. Some of the tribeswomen came and handed food to all of the people in small clay bowls. In it was a decent chunk of roasted meat with a few dates and dry berries. Not enough to completely stuff a person but enough to satisfy a hungry stomach.

The Food was scarce, so the tribe had rationalized their resources and made sure everyone would get equal and enough helping. They all ate slowly in silence, taking their sweet time intentionally so that even little food would feel like a satisfying feast.

Same couldn't be said about Hanabi as she had already finished the dinner and was clearly not satisfied. Saya was quick to offer Hanabi her share. Although the thought of more food watered the Kunoichi's mouth but she was not ready to accept her satisfaction at Saya's expense. Then again the older woman just shrugged off Hanabi's concerns, "I'll be fine, Neha. The fruits will be enough for me, beside, you need your strength." And another reason was the fact that Saya probably wouldn't be able to stomach eating a horse. It reminded her too much of Nhari and Saya couldn't bring herself to do it.

Initially hesitant but soon Hanabi listened to her stomach and accepted Saya's offer, never acknowledging just how much she actually wanted this. The human girl wolfed down the cooked meat as hunger chased away all the decency and Hanabi finished it without hesitation.

All the while, Hilda had been watching this and smirked. She strode over to them and sat down besides Saya, "You tow are almost unbelievable."

Saya frowned at this, "I assure you, I'll be fine, Miss – I mean Hilda."

"Yah-yah." The muscular woman shrugged and pulled out something from behind her. The Sai'ores eyes widened when she realized what Hilda had actually pulled out, a vase like glass bottle with a long neck and a long tube at its mouth. She could even see misty white smoke within the elaborately decorated bottle. It was a hookah! And a BIG on at that!

Seeing their expression, Hilda gave a wide grin that nearly reached her ears, "Behold, The white thunder! Strongest grass in the land, native of our home. Very strong and refreshing."

With that, Hilda took a deep drag from the vase using the tube and puffed out a cloud of smoke from the mouth as the tribesmen cheered for her. "Ah, I missed this.....Wanna try some?" she offered it to Saya, who seemed very unsure.

The brutish human smirked at this. Wagging her brows she cooed, "Oh, too much for your pretty elf lungs, sister?"

The tribesmen gasped and looked at the Sai'ore for her response. Saya narrowed her eyes at this. This was really childish and petty but sometimes, you should let loose now and then, "Firstly, I'm not an elf. Secondly, you're on sister."

The people howled in excitement as Saya snatched the pipe away from Hilda. Saya then took a deep drag, one that wa seven longer than Hilda and everyone looked at her breathlessly with disbelief. Finally, Saya slowly let go of the hookah and let out a small cough. Suddenly she puffed out an enormous cloud of smoke from her nose that nearly engulfed the whole area, shocking everyone.

The smoke dissipated eventually and the tall woman let out a sigh, "Ah, been ages since I did that." The entire tribe looked at her with astonishment. Hilda grinned and declared, "The elf's got some guts!" the tribe laughed and cheered at this while Saya smiled bashfully at the praise.

With her eyes literally glowing, Hanabi came forth and declared, "Let me try!"

Saya sweat nervously at that. Even if her powers nullified most of its effects, Hilda was not exaggerating when she said the White Thunder was strong, hell Saya actually felt her ears getting warmer, something no grass could normally do to her. "I don't think that's a good idea, Hana....."

But the young Kunochi was having none of it. She puffed her cheeks and declared boldly, "I am Hanabi no Iga, the strongest Kunochi and a Hrontre'haare in training. I am 18 and if I am old enough to kill, I'm old enough to smoke!"

The Sai'ore was about to try and convince her by Hilda beat her to it. Saya watched in horror as Hilda laughed and patted her pack, "Give her a chance sister. How bad can she be?" with that Hilda passed the Hookah pipe to Hanabi.

\---X---

"Apparently, Very bad." Muttered Hilda with an amused voice while Saya gave her a 'No shit Sherlock' look. Hanabi had a very little tolerance to intoxications so all it took was a single drag for kunoichi to be as high as the mountain. She had been throwing a tantrum ever since while the rest watched with both amusement and concern.

"Baka Honzo-senpai...." Hanabi mumbled in a slurry voice as she wobbled around the camp fire and cursed again, "I will kill that damned traitor. And then 'Him'! I will wipe hat smile off his snot nose face!" she yells. Her face was flushed red and eyes were a bit blood shot.

Hilda snickered at this but Saya gave her a very heated glare, shutting her up immediately. Raising her hands in surrender, Hilda chuckled nervously.

"Don't look at me! I had no idea she would get this high!"

The Sai'ore sighed in defeat, standing up she walked towards Hanabi and picked her up bridal style.

"Hey, put me down Saya-chan!" she protests.

"That's enough now, Neha. Let's get you to bed." Saya spoke tiredly.

"But I'm not sleepy!"

Saya sighed in expiration; it was going to be a long night.

She took the intoxicated kunoichi to her own separate camp. Saya settled Hanabi down on her fur bed roll; all the while Hanabi was muttering grumpily, "I really hate umbrellas. I really do. Just show, me an umbrella and see what happens to you!" Saya shook her head. The girl was really loosing it and it would be best to put her to bed.

The Older woman helped Hanabi off her arm braces and hip guards. She slid off Hanabi's shoes and put them away. Saya was about to un do Hanabi's mask as she thought that having them on while asleep would be unnecessary but Hanabi didn't allow her so Saya tuck Hanabi in the bedroll with her mask still on. With her job done, Saya stood up and made her way towards her own camp.

Or would have had Hanabi not held on to Saya's hand, halting her steps, "Please,......... Don't go." The girl's voice was soft and small. Saya didn't have the heart to deny her and thus sat down besides Hanabi.

The kunoichi rested her head on Saya's lap and let out a content sigh. Her pony tail seemed quite uncomfortable in such position so Saya thoughtfully opened the red ribbon which held Hanabi's hair and allowed her raven locks to cascade down freely from its confines. Taking time and care, Saya straightened Hanabi's tangled locks by running her fingers across the Kunoichi's hair making the human purr in satisfaction.

"You are such a good friend, Saya-chan...." Hanabi mumbled in a tired sleepy voice, "You cared for me, believe in me....But I've been a very bad friend." She says with a dehected and hurt tone.

Saya chuckled at this and stroke Hanabi's head fondly, "No you're not, Meha Hana. You are a very good friend and I will always care for you."

Hanabi looked up at Saya with hopeful eyes, "Really?"

Flashing one of her warmest smile, Saya nodded. Hanabi couldn't hold back any longer so she hugged Saya, "I love you too."

Her words stunned Saya to her core. Maybe Hanabi was more intoxicated than she previously thought. Yet there was no lie in it. Hanabi had meant it genuinely. It was pure and innocent and it melted Saya's heart. Saya hugged her back and held her tight. Truly, this girl had burrowed her way deep in her heart.

"Thank you for being my friend." Hanabi breathed out before falling asleep completely. Carefully, Saya laid her back into the bedroll and covered Hanabi with some furs. The night was still chilly and the bed roll seemed more inviting than ever. Having no better thing to do, Saya lay in the bed as well and Hanabi immediately wrapped her arms around Saya's warm body and rested her face at the crook of Saya's neck. Smiling softly, Saya looked down at Hanabi's sleeping form. How peaceful and innocent she seemed in her sleep. The Sai'ore could feel her heart swell up with an emotion she had not felt for a long time. An affection so deep that it actually mad her heart heavy and hurt but it also made her feel content and happy at the same time. Saya kissed Hanabi's forehead and held the smaller female closer.

"For you, Meha Jai, anything."

With that the two drifted into a pleasant sleep, oblivious of a pair of violet eyes looking upon them with envy..................... 


	26. The Storm that followed

The night was cool and quiet, with the full moon shining brightly in the sky, bringing an unlikely calmness and beauty upon the barren lands of the Megalith Desert. In the middle of the desert was the small settlement of the People of Wilderness, resting soundly after a whole day of tiring journey, gathering strength for the day that was to come tomorrow. Within one of those camps lay Saya with her human wrapped protectively around her long, slender arms. Coolness of the night made the contact much more pleasant then it would normally be so Hanabi shifted closer towards her much taller friend and Saya wholeheartedly welcomed such closeness. It was a heart-warming sight to behold, yet not every spectre would agree to this.

There from the darkness, a pair of glowing purple eyes looked upon them with burning jealousy. The figure stalked towards the sleeping couple without a single sound. Finally she stopped before the two, looking at Saya with an almost longing expression, which then turned into a snare upon seeing the masked girl laying her head on the Sai'ores bosom with an expression of upmost bliss and satisfaction. It infuriated her, as if Hanabi's very existence mocked her, but the figure controlled herself, "Now is not the time." she whispered to herself and faced towards her primary objective.

The figure bends down and carefully closer to Saya's body and caressed her cheek, or that was the idea before the Sai'ore suddenly grasped the figure's arm. The intruder gasped when Saya opened her glowing green eyes and glared directly inside her purple eyes.

Awkwardly, the figure smiled and spoke in a hushed voice, "Hello, Darling."

Recognizing who had sneaked into the camp, Saya's eyes widened and she immediately got out of the bedroll (how she managed to do this without waking up Hanabi was a mystery). Turning towards the Demon queen, the Sai'ore asked with complete astonishment, "Alice? What are you doing here?"

The white haired demon's expression turned serious, "We need to talk."

"We cannot talk here; it's too risky what if someone heard you?" Saya protested.

"I know a place, come with me." Alice spoke and offered her hand to Saya, a sudden and unexpected request. Most people would out right refuse such offer but Saya was not exactly most people. Without hesitation, she took hold of Alice's hand, shocking the said demoness. Saya's next words shocked her even more, "I trust you."

Was it Saya's naivety or was it her arrogance or was it real trust she had on her, Alice didn't knew. But it did leave a strange mixture or happiness and heaviness on her heart that she couldn't describe. The Blood demoness held Saya's hand tighter, marvelling the softness it possessed even after countless battles, and lead them out of the camp. "Hold me." Alice commanded.

A healthy blush radiated across Saya's face but she did as she was told. Tentatively she put her arms around Alice's shoulder and allowed the demon woman's rose and blood-like smells invade her senses. Alice holds the taller woman around her waist and spread her wings. Using it, the two took to the sky. Alice took them away from the camp and landed on one of the many stone spires dotting the landscape.

Saya let go of the shorter woman and looked around, the height of the stone formation giving a breath-taking panoramic view of the desert. Even she had to admit, although the desert was a death-trap, it was very beautiful in its own way. Alice came and stood beside her, introducing a tense atmosphere between them.

The Sai'ore was the first to break the silence, "Why did you come here, Kari?"

Alice gulped nervously at this; she knew exactly why she came here but still was unable to actually form words. Instead she tried to play it off by humour, "Are you not happy to see me?" she pouted. Saya sighed and rubbed her temple, "You know that's not what I meant, Alice."

Knowing that she now had nowhere else to run, Alice spilled the beans, "You have made quite an impression in the Abyss, My Darling."

Saya scoffed at this, "Let me guess, you're here to apprehend me?" Alice laughed at this, "I'm not foolish enough to come after you alone, Darling. I came here to warn you. The Lava lord himself has left his fortress to look for you." She warned.

The Ex-empress shrugged and spoke nonchalantly, "I took care of you lots before, I can handle him as well."

Alice frowned, "No, you do not understand, The Lave Lord Thamuz controls fire! His very presence melts the ground he walks upon; you cannot heal if there is nothing left to heal!"

"I will manage."

"Of course, like how you managed in the desert?" spat back Alice, causing Saya to narrow her eyes. "How do you know?" The demoness snorted and declared, "Had it not been me, the tribe you are currently travelling with would have never found you." This statement caused the Zeno to pause. The fact that Alice was stalking her really angered Saya but then again if what Alice says was true, than without the demoness's intervention, both Saya and Hanabi would've been in a much graver condition. Humbly, Saya spoke, "My sincerest thanks for saving our lives, Alice of the Blood Demons."

Saya's words surprised Alice. Getting used to gratitude was still an alien concept for Alice and so it really left an off taste in her mouth, but it was not exactly a bad one. The woman then shook her head and came to the real matter at hand, "That's another matter. You cannot win against the Lava Lord, not with your current weakness."

"You're concern is appreciated, Kari. But I will be fine." Replied Saya monotonously, frustrating Alice even more.

"Why won't you just listen?"

"Why does my fate suddenly interest you so much?"

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!" screamed Alice, stunning Saya. She witnessed as the Almighty Demon Queen's eyes glossed with unshed tears threatening to spill out. Realizing what she was doing, Alice looked at her own hands with astonishment. It then turned into despair and Alice fell to her knees. She looked away, feeling ashamed at herself for harbouring all this emotions that had suddenly brewed within her ever since she met Saya. Weakly, she mutters, "What have to done to me?"

Carefully the Zeno approached the blood demon, her hands raised in a gesture of peace while Saya crept closer to Alice. She flinched away when Saya raised her hands, Alice tried to scoot away but Saya had already wrapped her arms around Alice.

Oh, how Alice wanted to get away, she really wanted to push Saya away, to do anything to stop this. To stop the overwhelming feeling to warmth and security that came from Saya's embrace, the feeling of affection and acceptance that she had never experienced in her long life. She really wanted to, but couldn't help but melt in Saya's arms. Melt away as all her fears, pains and worries fade away as Saya gently stroked her back. If was so different, so foreign, yet it felt right so right; as if this was where she belonged. As if she was right at home.

"What is happening to me?" Alice chocks out in Saya's arms, "Why am I feeling like this? What have you done to me?"

The Ex-empress sighs and explains, "There is an old saying amongst my kind. They say that, 'one only craves for the things that is derived from them.' Power, wealth, freedom........ Affection."

Saya's words really offended Alice. She was a demon for the abyss, things like affection was something that she did not need in her life, yet, here she was, deprived of the very thing she hates and carving it form the only person that was willing to give it to her. It sickened her, yet it had its own addictive nature, perhaps even more so that any blood she had ever tasted, making her bound to think, _'Perhaps she is right.'_ Yet Alice didn't dare to voice this thought.

They stayed like this for several moments as Alice basked in Saya's warm embrace while the Sai'ore showered the much needed affection upon her unlikely demon partner. Suddenly Alice held Saya's hands and spoke desperately, "Come with me. If you just come with me, I can persuade my peers to spare you. Please just with me and don't make this harder!"

Her worlds were filled with worry and desperation, the likes seen only in desperate person who want to save their loved ones no matter the cost and Saya understood it. However, "Alice, I cannot do that....."

"Please, you have to! I cannot! I cannot watch you get hurt!" her voice more desperate with every words. Suddenly Saya cupped Alice's cheek, causing her to stop in her tracks. Then Saya gave her a smile, a soft and warm smile, like the ones Alice had seen Saya give to that human girl Hanabi, only this time, it was meant for her. Only her. Her breath hitched, finding it hard not to be overwhelmed by the seer amount of emotions her gaze held. Making her admire and wonder just how that human girl could match Saya's disarming gaze with ease. Saya rubbed Alice's cheeks gently and spoke, "I will be fine, Meha Kari. I will be fine."

Alice wanted to believe her, she really wanted to but still, "You don't understand......You don't know who Thamuz really is." she pleads. The Sai'ore just smiled reassuringly, "And you don't know who I really am."

It was clear, there was not reasoning with her. Alice sighed and looked away, "Fine, but at least take this........." with that Alice took out a small charm form her robe. It looked like a small crystal fork with a blue gem stone in the middle. Holding it up to Saya, Alice explained, "This is Winter Truncheon, one of my most prized charms." She gave to towards Saya, "It will help you, when time comes."

The Zeno took the item in her hands and immediately felt her body grow colder as its name suggested. She had no idea how this was supposed to help her, but Saya trusted Alice. "Thank you, Alice." She says and held Alice's hands, placing a peck one her knuckles, making the demon queen blush.

The two looked at each other in the eyes. So many words they wanted to say, yet no words formed on their tongue. It was then the two noticed that twilight was slowly chasing away the darkness of the night. Day would be upon them soon and they couldn't be seen together at any cost.

"I must leave now." Spoke Saya with reluctance and Alice nodded in answer, both still holding hands, unwilling to let go so soon. Pondering on this...... 'Thing' they now had discovered between themselves. With a last squeeze, Alice let go of Saya's hand, "You better not die, or I'll resurrect you just to kill you again." The demon queen threatens half-heartedly. The Sai'oren Empress chuckled and answers, "As you wish, meha Mahajani."

With a last smile, Alice flies away, leaving Saya alone on the stone spire. The tall woman looked around and mumbles, "Now, how do I get down."

\---X---

When Hanabi woke up and found that Saya was not besides her, the first reaction she did was panic but Saya entered the camp soon after that happened and when the taller woman was inquired she answered smoothly, "I was out for a walk." Hanabi trusted Saya enough to believe her, making Saya feel very bad about lying to her.

The day was soon upon them and the whole tribe had already gathered their belongings and were ready to head out for their journey. It was but a normal day in the desert but one could easily notice the difference that particular day. Firstly, Saya was up and about, seemingly more cheery than Hanabi had seen since the past few days. What's more was the fact that Saya was now unaffected by the sun and it rise more than a few suspicions. When asked, Saya explained explicitly, "You see, my healing power not only keeps my body in top condition but it can also help my body adapt to the environment. Although this takes time but I'm glad that I was able to do it now."

This was a lie. The main reason why Saya could withstand the heat of the desert was due to the charm Alice had given her that morning. Saya was still not sure how it worked but the magical item was able to keep her body cool even under the burning sun, making her immune to its effect. That was the reason why she was able to walk out in the sun without dehydrating or being covered in blisters. Hanabi believed this story as well, leaving another wave of guilt within Saya.

Right now we find Saya and Hanabi on board Hilda's caravan, only this time; Saya was not in a critical condition and was happily conversing with the other two occupants of the vehicle, making the journey much more bearable that it would've been.

Hours went by and the tribe had still been travelling. Saya was looking out of the caravan and into the desert, that's where she saw it. There on top of the sands were some rocks that were clearly put together by man and not nature. When Saya told Hilda of this, the huntress beamed happily, "Fortune smiles upon us today! We found the desert road!"

The same road that Saya and Hanabi had been deviated from a few days ago. Without delay, the entire tribe were now behind Hilda and with the help of the road, travelling was much more easier. As they travelled by the road, Saya could see many stone pillars dotting the sides of the road here and there. They seemed old and weathered, probably due to how long that had been exposed to the elements.

"These pillars, they seem ancient." Saya commented.

Hilda, who was stirring the horse nodded and answered, "Yes. You see, this road was built long ago by an ancient king of the Desert. His name is Kufra."

"To thing someone would be willing to build a road in a place such as this. He must be a very good king." Marvelled Hanabi, but Hilda laughed at this, "Actually quite the opposite. Kufra was a cruel but powerful king. His ambition was to conquer the whole Land of Dawn."

Saya nodded at this, "A tyrant then."

Hanabi frowned at this and asked, "What happened? Was he stopped?"

Catching the reigns tighter, the Huntress recited further, "Kufra was a cruel ruler, but still his love for his mistress Esmeralda was legendary. But seeing what her beloved had been doing, she betrayed him." Saya tensed at this but Hilda carried on, "She casted a powerful curse on him and put him in an eternal slumber, thus ending Kufra's tyranny."

The kunoichi sighed at this, "Oh good riddance, the bastard got what he deserved."

However, the Sai'ore shook her head, "If there is something I hate the most then its betrayal. I agree that Kufra was cruel, but he loved and trusted Esmeralda. Thus making her even crueller." Her words really surprised both Hilda and Hanabi. The journey from then was now covered in silence with none speaking much as the entire tribe travelled down the stone road. Oblivious of the storm that was chasing them.

\---X---

Towards the end of the day, the tribe had decided to camp just beside the road. They had covered quite a lot of distance that day and it was clear that they were very tired. One could see a great canyon in a distance and according to Hilda was a sign that they were close to the end of their journey. This brought a new hope amongst the people who wanted nothing more than to get out of this barren lands and start a new life.

"We rest for today and tomorrow, we make our way around the canyons." Declared Hilda causing Hanabi to frown, "Around it? Wouldn't going through the canyons be a lot easier?" she asks.

"That might be true, Shortie, But that's the borders of the Elven kingdom of Moniyans and they hate visitors. Past the canyons is the great Crystal mountain that houses a beast that guards the entrance to their kingdom and I don't want to anger it... Ha, worry not, Shortie, the path around is safer and not as long as you think, just a day's walk. Trust me, it's better than never!"

Hanabi was really sceptical about this talk of the beast as she continued to argue with Hilda causing Saya to chuckle at her antics. The kunoichi's impatient nature was something Saya really had to work on and perhaps after leaving this desert, Saya would give her more lessons how to control her temper. The Sai'ore ponders whether some meditation would do her good. Although Saya herself was not so fond of meditation, thinking it as only a means to laze around, but in Hanabi's case, it might help the young human to calm her down and channelize her abundant energy.

The evening was upon them and the tribesmen were preparing to set up their camp. Everything seemed fine but Saya couldn't help but feel that something was amiss. She felt a sudden shift in the air and she looked around in worry.

_'Something's not right.'_

She was certain that she could smell brimstone in the air but this confused her to the core. Suddenly, without a warning a ball of fire descended from the sky and landed on the first camp that was being raised in the middle of the settlement. In an instant, the structure was turned into ashes, shocking all of them as that had been the last food supplies of the tribe.

Then they heard it, drums. Beating like thunder, they all heard drum beats echoing throughout the almost lifeless desert. They turned towards the source of the noise and what they saw nearly gave them a heart attack. There on a distance on top of a stone spire was a flaming horse.

The sight itself was chilling but what was even worst was the fact that mounted on the horse was a great fire demon. There was no mistaking it. That was the Lava lord Thamuz himself.

Conjuring another ball of fire, he threw it towards the camp once more, this time it exploded just before Saya's feet. This was no fluke, but a well place warning shot. The two locked eyes as Saya gave him a snare while the fire demon grinned maniacally. The drumming they had been hearing suddenly got louder and soon more fire demons mounted on various mounts came on view. Little by little more poured in till they had an entire mounted Demon horde just waiting to storm towards them.

Their intention was clear and right now they had no other choice.

Gravely Saya turned towards Hilda and stated, "We need to move, NOW!"

Wasting no time Hilda barked to her men, "You hear her! Get moving now!"..................


	27. Race to the Crystal mountain

There was no mistaking it; the elf-like woman was in fact the Zeno Thamuz had been hunting for the past few weeks. Although she might not look like much, but the Lava Lord knew it was her for he could sense a strange power within her, just like the one he had felt from Alice's blood. The like never seen in the Land of Dawn before.

"My lord, the humans and the Zeno are running away, shall we destroy them with our demon fire?" asked one of his soldiers but the great fire demon just let out a laugh.

"Let them have a little head start. I always love playing with my food."

\---X---

Hilda's tribe made a quick run, discarding many of their belongings behind as the humans desperately tried to get away from the horde that was chasing them. With a number of about six carts filed with the tribe's people, they made their way forward as the Demons trampled their would-be camp beneath their fire-horse's hooves.

Saya, along with Hanabi and Hilda were leading the caravan as usual. Hilda was barking out orders to her fearful men but it was clear that she too was fearful herself.

"Damn it. First they took away our home and they want to kills us as well." Hilda hissed through gritted teeth.

Hanabi frowns and spoke, "Why would they follow you? Your tribe didn't do anything to them?"

Saya shook her head, "They are not for the tribe." She gets off her seat and calls her horse, "Nhari!" On command, Saya's fateful horse gallops beside Hilda's cart. The Sai'ore was about to jump off towards the horse but Hilda held her back, "Just where do you think you're going?"

The Ex-empress spoke with a serious expression, "The Abyss is after me. If I go the other way, they will follow me and your people will have the chance to get away."

"But what about you?" exclaimed the huntress.

"I will be fine."

But before Saya could do anything else, Hanabi suddenly slapped her, shocking all. "Baka."

The kunoichi then held Saya by her collar and screams, "Baka! Will you stop this already! Will you stop being so selfish! I get if that you're strong but that doesn't mean that you have to take all the burden!"

Saya stood stunned, Hanabi's words were harsh but still Saya understood the concern underneath it. The woman lowered her eyes and said softly, "I just want you safe, meha Neha. I don't want people to get hurt on my behalf."  
Her words softened Hanabi gaze considerably. She took a hold of Saya's hand and gave a reassuring squeeze. "I know. But you don't have to do this alone Saya-chan. I am here for you." The kunoichi had no idea just how much these words meant to her. Saya looked into Hanabi's eyes and gave a small smile, "Thank you."

"Hate to break such a touching moment but we got company." Announced Hilda out of the blue.

The two sticked their head out of the cart and a chill went down their back when they saw that the Demon horde were nearly about to reach them.

"At this rate, they will gain on us!" exclaimed Hanabi.

"Tell me something I don't know!" yelled back the brutish woman.

Having enough, Saya jumped off the cart and on to her horse. "I will organise a defensive formation. Keep up the speed, Hilda."

Hanabi panicked at this, "But Saya!"

The taller woman smiled at her, "Don't worry. I will not leave you. Hiyaa!" Saya then took her horse towards the back of the caravan. Hanabi then turns towards Hilda, "So...What do we do now?"

\---X---

Saya made her way towards the back of the caravan. On the way she had rallied a group of hunters who armed themselves with weapons and followed her. They were quick to recognise the seriousness of the situation and did as were asked of them.

With about ten mounted men armed with various weapons like spears, bows and a few guns, the Hunters rode beside Saya.

The Sai'oren woman looked upon the enemies and saw many of the demon riders were starting to come closer towards the caravan.  
"Hunters, shoot!" commanded Saya and the hunters shot the demon riders down before they could get closer.

Their resistance seemed to have angered the demons as they released fire balls towards them. Being mounted on horse, it was easy for the hunters and Saya to avoid them but one of their wagons was not as it blew up in a fit of fiery blaze.

Saya cringed at this while the rest of the tribesmen looked in absolute horror. It was then they heard it once again.

Thundering drum beats.

They had no idea where it was coming form but it was causing restlessness amongst the tribe. Then from within the horde, out came a huge chariot. It looked like it was forged in the deepest pit of hell fashioning bone like body and spikes. Fire spilled out of its cracks and fissures as four fire-horses pulled that abominable vehicle. It was big enough to house about six huge drums which were constantly being beaten to give out the dreadful beats of the chase and top of the hellish chariot stood Thamuz himself. "Raaah!" her roars and his hoards followed after as the drumming intensifies.

\---X---

"What the hell is going on back there?" asked Hilda as the sounds of the drumming could be heard till her cart.

"I don't know." Replied Hanabi. Both looked in horror as one of the cart beside them blew in a fiery explosion, Soon more balls of fire fell from the sky and rocked the very ground they were riding on.

"This is insane!" exclaims Hanabi as she clings on the cart as a life line while Hilda performed some evasive manoeuvres.

"What the hell is Saya doing?"

\---X---

Saya and her hunters were having a bad time. Till now they had taken down over dozens of those demon riders but their numbers were unrelenting. Unlike theirs as the tribe had already lost over two carts in a matter of moments.

Another ball of fire was thrown towards their direction and Saya was barely able to dodge it. However, it did cost them another cart though.  
Now with the third cart blown to bits, the tribe was effectively half of their previous numbers.

The Sai'ore glared towards the Demon horde, especially towards their leader, Thamuz. With lightening speed, Saya nock an arrow on her bow and shot it towards the demon king. Even from this distance, her aim was true as it flew straight towards Thamuz's eye.

However the fire demon's body heat was enough to actually turn the wooden arrow into ashes before it could even reach anywhere near his eye.

This astonished Saya to no end for she had not seen such a feat in a very long time. Thus now she begs to question herself, "How am I to win this?"

\---X---

Seeing the state of her people frustrated and angered Hilda, her Tribe was now half of its original number and would probably lose more if they didn't do anything. But the problem was what? What could they even do in a situation such as this?

Hanabi knew the graveness of the situation as well so she ponders on what ways she could possibly help, it was then her eyes fell on the Canyons ahead of her. An idea came in her mind and the kunoichi yelled, "Quick Hilda, to the canyons!"

The Huntress's eyes widened in horror and she yells back, "Are you crazy? You know what's in there?"

"Do you have a better plan?" countered Hanabi. Both of them braced themselves as another fire ball exploded besides their cart, reminding them of the situation they were currently in. Hilda gritted her teeth, she knew what lies beyond the canyons and was not really keen on disturbing that thing, but then again, her people were on the brink of annihilation and they were desperate. Desperate times indeed called for desperate measures.

"Hope you know what you're doing, Shortie." Mumbled Hilda and jerked her reins towards the direction of the canyons.

\---X---

  
The drum beats were really not helping. Many would've taken this as nothing but a display of savagery but Saya knew better. The Drums acted as a mode of communication and it was declaring death to all of its enemies. It was filling the pursuers with adrenaline while the fearful heart-beats of the pursed quickened with the beat itself. Its purpose was to fill the enemies with dread and anxiety which seemed to be working very well.

The men were tired and scared, the day's journey had taken a toll on them and it wouldn't be long before their horses collapsed from exhaustion.

It all seemed hopeless, but then suddenly, the caravan changed direction and made its way towards the canyons, making all of them really confused.

\---X---

"My lord, the humans are making their way towards the Great Canyons!" one of Thamuz's soldier cried.

"They must have a death wish then." Smirked Thamuz, "No worries though. Purse them anyways!"

"But My Lord, the canyons lead towards..."

"Did I falter with my words, vermin?" Thamuz growled at the lowly soldier. The minion whimpered and rushed away. Satisfied, the Lava lord looked towards his targets. The Humans had entered the canyons but this would not stop them. "I am coming for you, Zeno."

\---X---

As planned, Hilda's tribe fled towards the canyons, where they now find themselves running through a huge piece of rock formation which was spilt in the middle forming a narrow path through the canyon. This was even worst as they now had no room to run and were even easier targets to shoot at.

"We're like fishes in barrels right now. Do something!!!" Yelled Hilda

Hanabi immediately sticked her head out of the cart and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Saya!"

The said woman heard Hanabi's cry from back of the caravan and looked towards the one who called her. Upon knowing that Saya could see her and had her full attention on her, Hanabi stretched out and pointed above her. Saya's gaze followed Hanabi's hand and saw a huge stone arch above their head. The Ex-empress's eyes widened in shock at what Hanabi was actually truing to imply but she had no time to reply as a hunter who was riding besides her got hit by a ball of fire.

Time was short but still Saya had not idea just how could she carry out Hanabi's request. Bringing down an entire stone arch was not small feat. She would need tons of explosives and get up there to actually detonate it properly. It would take time, the very thing that was scarce in right now.

_'Perhaps..... I could use 'that'?'_ Saya thinks to herself. But was still unsure whether she should use it or not. The technique she was thinking about was dangerous, even for an immortal and Saya was a half-immortal. But then again, that might just be their only chance.

Abruptly, Saya stopped her horse and dismounted, shocking both the tribe and the abyssal horde.

"Are you insane? Get back on your horse!" many of the hunters yelled at her but Saya didn't listened. She just took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

The Demons though this as Saya's way of accepting her fate and laughed cruelly at her and charged faster. But the truth was very different.

No, Saya had not given up. She was actually doing something else.

Her immortal heritage made Saya special; she could use Maya, the purest form of energy in existence. Tapping into that part of herself, Saya summons the Maya inside her body through great concentration. Everyone felt it, the sheer density of energy that was being concentrated inside the woman's body. Concentrating harder, Saya manipulated her Maya till it actually manifested itself as a green ethereal ball in her hands.

To most, it would seem as just a ball of magic, but the on lookers knew the difference. That was no mere magic-energy. But a very dense and most powerful form of energy, this was the first time the Land of Dawn witnessed the very first energy that was created by the Supremes themselves, Immortal Maya. (Should u want to know more, please stay tuned as I will release my official book "War of Existence" where Saya is originally from, in the year 2020)

The power surges the ball sent could be felt throughout the entire world as it shook the very ground they stood on. Such was its awesome power that even the Abyssal horde halted in their tracks in awe. However this power did have its consequences. Immortal Maya was the original and purest form of energy and it was in no way meant to be handled by Mortal beings made of matter. Saya was a Half-Immortal but her other half, especially her body was still of a mortal, thus it was taking a toll on her. Her left hand, where Saya had summoned the Maya ball was slowly starting to disintegrate into nothingness.

The Empress looked towards the abyss horde, especially at Thamuz. They locked eyes for a moment before Saya, with a loud war cry, hurled the Maya ball towards the stone arch.

They didn't even get a chance to react as the ball of Maya hit the Arch and a very huge explosion followed. The Explosion was strong enough the send a shock wave as a huge mushroom-shaped cloud rose in the air. 

It was powerful and destructive as the Stone arch was no more and the rubbles that fell from above had buried most of the demon horde while the rest of them were trapped on the other side of the rubble.

She did it. She had saved them all!

The Tribe cried in joy, rejoicing at their survival and marvelling at the power Saya possessed. Hanabi jumped off Hilda's cart and made her way through the applauding crowd towards Saya.

There, through the smoke, they saw a silhouette. The figure approached forward and revealed itself. It was none other than Saya, standing in all her glory. The tribe cheered once more, Hanabi smiled, "I knew you could do it! I knew you would save us all."

Saya smiled at this... then, she limped towards them, causing the cheers to halt. It was then Hanabi's eyes widened in horror when she noticed one thing. Saya was missing her left arm.

"Saya!" Hanabi cried and dashed towards Saya's limping figure at one with Hilda right after her. No able to stand any more, Saya fell on the ground and Hanabi was at her side at once. Cradling her head on her lap, Hanabi held Saya's arm while speaking desperately, "No-no-no, Saya-chan, please talk to me. Oh god, please. Saya-chan..."

Alas, Saya was too weak to speak right now, darkness soon consumed her and the only thing she heard was Hanabi's distant cries, "Saya-chan! SAYA-CHAN!".................... 


	28. Untimely good bye

Night had fallen upon the land of Dawn and under the light of its moon, the survivors of a once prosperous tribe made their way through the narrow trench of the canyon.

It had been a very harsh day for them as they had lost more than half of their population. Which too would've been annihilated had Saya not interfered, but in doing so she paid a great price. Now with literally an arm short, the Sai'oren Empress lay prone and exhausted in one of the remaining three carts while the tribe made their way deeper down the canyon as turning back was not possible at all.

Upon reaching a small stream, the first water source they had came across in months; Hilda declared that they would camp there. The rest agreed wordlessly as the day had taken a toll on them all, both physically and mentally.

They started a small bonfire but no merriment was heard that night, just silent sobs from the remaining tribesmen who were mourning for the loss of their loved ones.

Most of their belongings had to be discarded in haste while fleeing from Thamuz's demon horde. That had buffed them with extra speed but now that the onslaught was over, the tribe was now facing a very severe lack of resources. All they could save were some dry meat and a few blankets, which were distributed evenly amongst the people.

Saya was lying in Hilda's cart and still unconscious. The attack she had used had taken a very heavy toll on her and Hanabi was really worried about her friend.

Hilda approached them and asked, "How is she?"

"Still out cold, I don't understand. Why is she in such a bad condition?" The kunoichi shakes her head expiration.

"Well, the power she used was.......Extraordinary. It's only natural that it would be so taxing. Don't worry though; I'm sure she will be fine." Hilda tried to reassure her. Hanabi just nodded in reply and sat next to Saya.

Rubbing the back of her neck, the brutish woman called, "Come one, Shortie, Its dinner time."

With Saya in such a critical condition, Hanabi really didn't felt like eating thus she tried to decline. But Hilda reasoned back, "You cannot take care of her if you don't take care of yourself?" her words were right so Hanabi finally agreed and followed Hilda out of the cart.

Hilda led Hanabi towards the bonfire where the rest of the fifteen members of the tribe had gathered around. Hanabi sat down on the ground while Hilda passed her a piece of dried meat, which was also probably the last piece of food the tribe had left. All it took was a few bites to finish it off.

It was all silent since then and no one spoke a word.

Suddenly, one of the younger boys amongst the group tried to lighten the mood, "Well, at least we survived. The legacy of the People of Wilderness still lives on, am I right?"

Another man snorted at this, "That might be, but at what cost? We are lucky we had Lady Saya with us, or else not even fifteen would've made it out."

The majority of the tribe were quick to agree, except for one.

"She better. This is all her fault anyways." A lone man spoke begrudgingly.

This angered Hanabi to her core and she growled lowly to the man. "What did you say?"

Hilda didn't seem to like that comment as well, so she too voiced her displeasure, "What's the meaning of this, Darim?"

Yet Darim didn't falter, "Did you really believe we would not notice? I know who they are. The Scarlet Flower and Saya Mahira, the Saviours of Mossenia, Vanquishers of White Tooth. Words of your endeavours travel far. Isn't it obvious? The Abyssal Demons were after them, not us." The man spat venomously.

Hilda frowned at this, "But that's in the past now. It was not their fault..."

Darim immediately stood up at this and roared, "Not their fault?" The man stomped forward and growled, "So the demon horde just came out of thin air to hunt us down? That half of our tribe was slaughtered just out of coincident? That my son was burnt to crisp because of some mistake?"

Hilda narrowed her eyes and hissed, "Talk to me like that one more time and I will bash your skull in."

But then to her horror, the rest of the tribe slowly started agreeing with Darim.

"H-He is right you know."

"All this makes sense now."

"This explains why the demons attacked our home in the first place."

"They had been nothing but trouble...."

Hilda gritted her teeth and held Darim by his collar, "Say another word, I dare you!"

Before things got out of hands, a voice suddenly shouted, "Enough!"

Everyone turned around and saw that it was none other than Saya herself. The one armed woman slowly limped towards them and requested, "Hilda, please let him go."

The Huntress was shocked at this but respected Saya's request and did as told.

Saya let out a breath and spoke, "Darim is right. The Abyss was after me. I should've known this but now, this mistake has cost you so many lives." Slowly Saya bows lowly, "I cannot apologise enough for the pain that I have brought upon you." She then turns towards Hanabi and beckons her towards her. Facing the tribe once more, Saya bows once more, "We will take our leave. Thank you for your hospitality." She said sincerely and walked away with Hanabi towing behind her.

Suddenly, Hilda was already on to her and held her back, "Wait, you can't just leave like that!"

Saya shook her head, "This is what you're people want and it's for the best, Hilda."

"No! Not now! You're wounded and alone, we should really stick together and what about finding a new home?" Her voice was heated but frustrated as well. Saya gently placed her hand on Hilda's shoulder, "I know you don't like this, but you're the leader of your people, Hilda and they need you right now. You cannot risk turning on them, especially now just because of your own feelings." Saya explained.

"But, what about me? What about how I feel?" Hilda almost yells angrily.

Saya smiles softly at this, "The path we walk is not always the one we choose. You are the leader of your people and as a leader. You will have to make decisions and sacrifices that not many can do. Stay with your people. They need you more than we do." The Sai'ore held Hilda's hand and gave it a firm and reassuring squeeze.

Almost overwhelmed by emotions, Hilda wrapped her arms around the slender woman into a strong hug.

"You better not die on me. We will meet again, Sister." The brutish woman says.

Saya laughs and returns the hug as well, "Yes, we will........Sister."

Hilda finally let go of Saya and turned towards Hanabi, "You too, Shortie." With that she hugged her as well.

Saying their last good byes, Saya and Hanabi part ways with the People of Wilderness, not even knowing where the path ahead led them and to what dangers.

\---X---

"I cannot believe those ungrateful bastards would say something like that to you." Grumbled Hanabi while stomping forward.

"I understand that you're upset, Neha. But you should know that the man was in mourning. He lost his son; of course he would be bitter." Replied Saya calmly.

The two had been walking through the trenches for the whole night and had reached quite deep inside the canyon.

Unsatisfied by Saya's answer, Hanabi spoke once more, "But you saved their lives, yet they still blamed you! Don't you even feel a little bit angry?"

Saya shook her head, "I've been in his shoes............. More than a few times. I know what pain courses through his being, thus I understand his pain." She replied softly.

The walk had been long and tiring, especially for Saya who was now wobbling on her feet. Hanabi frowned at this and asked, "You okay?"

The Sai'ore nodded, "Yes. Let's keep moving." But her legs gave away and had Hanabi not been there to hold her, Saya would've been face first on the ground.

"That's it. We are resting and that's final." Saya was wise enough to not argue back.

Since most of their belongings were on Nhari's back, the two still had a few useful things left, like a blanket. Hanabi put the blanket on the ground and laid Saya on it before lying besides the Sai'ore herself. Their horse laid beside them as well, visibly exhausted from all the things that had happened from yesterday.

Hanabi lay close to Saya and wrapped her arms around the taller woman. Saya gently stroke the younger girl and let out a relieved breath. The Kunoichi looked towards the Sai'ore, especially her left arm which was not there and felt guilt fill her heart.

"I'm so sorry, Saya-chan. For your arm......... Had I known..."

But Saya shushed her immediately, "I will be fine, Neha. My arm will re-grow in a day or two, so no need to worry."

Hanabi frowned at Saya's sweet smile, not really convinced by her statement, but didn't protest. Right now, she was just glad Saya was with her, Hanabi just hopes that she could help her dear friend.

\---X---

They thought that they had defeated him. They believed that they had escaped his wrath, but they were wrong.

It would take more than some heap of debris to kill the Great Lava Lord. The giant stones that had buried him slowly melted away due to his extreme heat and form the molten earth rose Thamuz once again.

He looked up towards the direction where the Zeno fled and wondered, "Such power......"

Thamuz had felt it. The power, it was out of this world. Had it hit him directly, he doubts that he could've survived it. The thought scared as well as exhilarated him.

He wanted to see more of it.

He thirsts for it.

He wanted it.

Bending the molten ground beneath his feet, the fire demon ling fashioned two Lava scythes in his hands, "I am fire incarnate, and shall have that power!"

\---X---

The surrounding around them changed slightly as the two travelled further down the canyon after their rest. The Biggest change one could see would be the various crystals jutting out of the earth and littering the landscape.

They must be nearing the Crystal Mountain.

True to her word, Saya's arm was indeed re-growing. Her once arm-less part had grown till her elbow region, but there was a tiny information that Saya didn't gave Hanabi.

Her healing powers was due to her increased metabolism, that meant that Saya was growing back her arm by using whatever store food she had in her body to repair her damaged parts and re-grow her limb. And since she had not eaten in a good while, Saya had no way to compensate for all the body weight she had lost, causing her once slender and athletic body to slowly become skinnier.

Hanabi was very vocal about her concern but Saya was still insistent that she was okay.

Her immortal heritage, her Maya will not let her die. Her body was just protesting the lack of fodder, nothing Saya hadn't handled previously but that didn't really stop Hanabi from worrying.

It soon got dark and the two set up a small camp like they had done in the morning. Hanabi looked upon Saya, the woman's face was pale and gaunt with her cheek bones practically jutting out by now. She looked like she hadn't eaten for years and was very weak. Yet she was still stubborn and persistent. It almost made Hanabi wonder whether Saya really was crazy or that she was too prideful to accept her own condition.

It really frustrated Hanabi.

"I will sleep for a while. Wake me up in the morning, Okay." Saya spoke softly, her voice raspy and barely above whisper due to weakness. It didn't take long for the Sai'ore to fall asleep; she passed out the moment she laid her head down. Gone was her radiance and replace with a tired and worn out face. To see her in such a state broke Hanabi's heart.

"Why must you be so stubborn, Saya-chan?" she whispers softly while caressing Saya face.

Suddenly, Hanabi heard something. The Kunoichi looked up and her eyes widened in disbelief. There not far away, near the stream was a deer, a large healthy buck by the look of it.

Hanabi had no idea how was this even possible but there it was; a deer in the middle of a desert. Her stomach rumbled loudly as her mouth watered at the thought if belly full of roasted Venison and right now, perhaps, some good food was all what Saya needed as well. That thought was enough for Hanabi to take her weapon and sneak closer towards it.

The buck was drinking water without a care of the world, until a kunai came soaring towards it but Hanabi had been impatient and she paid for it as she missed her target by an inch.

With its guard up, the deer bolted away without looking back.

"No!" yelled Hanabi and gave a chase.

She really needed this hunt. Saya needed this hunt, so Hanabi was not going to give up so easily. The Kunoichi chased after the deer like a hungry wolf desperate for food and followed it deeper into the trenches.

Suddenly, the deer made a sharp turn and jumped down a hole in the ground, "Oh no you don't!" yelled the kunoichi and jumped down as well.

And so down she went, never at once considering, how on Earth was she to get back out........... 


	29. The beast within the mountain

The loss of their loved ones lay heavy in their heart, but the guilt they felt for shunning their savoir was even more. The tribesmen were not expecting that their words would have so deep effect, nor did they expect the bitter after taste of guilt that was slowly eating their heart.

Yet, what was done was done.

Saya and Hanabi had left them and that was the bitter truth that no one could deny.

Hilda was perhaps the most affected by the incident. Although she masked her emotions perfectly, they knew that the Huntress had formed a deep friendship with both the Sai'ore and the kunoichi. She talked less and only when necessary, refusing to acknowledge others but still carried out her duty as the leader of their tribe.

With nothing left for them, the tribe had no other choice but to go deeper into the canyons. The path was branched and various, so their chance of meeting Saya and Hanabi was next to none. Yet they still moved on, not knowing what lay ahead.

Hilda walked silently with the rest of the tribe. Her body was doing its duty as the leader of her people, yet her mind still lingered on the tall Sai'ore. Saya was injured and Hanabi, although a very good friend, was not exactly very good caretaker. Nurturing was Saya's job, while Hanabi was the younger naïve one who needed to be taken care of, so with the roles now reversed, Hilda was really worried about both of them.

Lost in her though, Hilda nearly a fire ball coming towards her direction. Narrowly dodging it by an inch, Hilda dived away from the attack but the fire devoured her caravan in an instant, leaving behind nothing but ashes. A bit dazed, the huntress stood up and saw perhaps the worst case scenario she could ever think of.

There before her stood a horde of fire demon, all ready with fire balls to shower upon the remaining of her people with the Lava Lord himself standing at the front.

Thamuz stalked forward and growled menacingly, "Where is she?"

\---X---

Saya felt cold. She knew that her body couldn't hold too much of the stress, that was one of the reasons why she really hated being a half-immortal. Mortal bodies were always very fragile, and so was her's. She could feel it. Her body was slowly dying. This was bad, because the last time this happened; it took about a whole month for her Immortal maya to gather enough energy to revive her body form its death like state.

Saya didn't fear that state of temporary death; instead it would actually give her the occasional breaks from her condition of eternal life. However, she feared for the new human friend she had made. Hanabi, Saya shudders to think what would happen to her if she was not there for the young woman. The Human girl needed her, as much as Saya needed Hanabi. Perhaps, even more so, thus for the first time in centuries, Saya was afraid to leave. Not now, not when Hanabi was struggling.

But alas, there are some things that were out of Saya's power and this was one of them. If only Saya had the power to rise up once more, if only she could find a way to rejuvenate herself.

Coldness was now taking a hold of her. She could feel herself slipping away.

_'No,........please.....'_

The last thing she felt was a cold but soft hand caressing her cheek lovingly, before the void of death took her.

**(Note:- Saya is not exactly dead. What she entered now is actually a condition a Half-immortal will suffer from if they don't tend to their mortal needs. An Immortal is immune to mortal needs like eating, sleeping etc. Although they can choose to do so. Unlike Mortals who have to do so or they die. Half-Immortals, although don't need to necessarily tend to their mortal needs to survive, Their body will still demand for them and when not met with the demand, their body will go into a 'Death like State', where the entire body metabolism halts. When Saya used her body weight to re-grow her limb, she used up all her stored food and her body, when not given proper nutrients went in this state. However, this is just a temporary state. Maya inside the Half-immortal's body will not allow the host to die but will take time to revive. So basically, Death is only a temporary state for the Half-Immortals. A feat not even Immortals can do.) For more Info, plz wait for my official Book War of Existence which I will publish in 2020.**

\---X---

When she had jumped after the deer down the hole, she was not expecting to be greeted by such a breathtaking sight; below the hole was a huge crystal cave. But there was a problem. There was no way out.

Hanabi was really starting to hate herself. Her habit of doing things without thinking through was really causing her more trouble then she would like to admit. Which is why, here she was, lost in a huge cave, with no way to get back out because the way she came from was too high up in the ceiling to be reached.

Suddenly she heard some sound and immediately darted her eyes towards its source. To her surprise, it was a deer, the same deer that she had followed down the hole.

Upon seeing his would be hunter, the buck bolted away as fast as it could with Hanabi hot on its tail.

"Get back here!" she screamed hurling throw able weapons at it while the poor creature tried desperately to dodge all the incoming attacks.

Luckily the deer seemed to know its way around the cave and ran easily through the path, unwittingly leading Hanabi out of the cave as well. Soon both of them were out of the cave.

The Kunoichi was panting heavily but she was still persistent, "Come back here you little..." however her words died in her throat when she saw what beheld before her.

The scene before her was straight out of a story book. She found herself before a huge valley, filled with lush grassland, blue rivers and tiny forests with occasional spire of crystal jutting out of the earth. It was a far cry from the barren and life less canyons of the desert as this valley was filled with greenery and life. Then her eyes caught what stood at the middle of the valley.

There standing in all of its glory was a mountain made entirely of crystal.

Hanabi had done what many had failed to do; she had found the Legendary Crystal Mountain. So awed she was that she forgot about the deer she was supposed to hunt. The Mountain mesmerized her, it was so beautiful and magical that Hanabi could actually feel it call out to her. Thus involuntarily, she started walking towards it. "It's just a mountain, what could go wrong?"

\---X---

Hilda spitted out blood as she was punched mercilessly by one of Thamuz's demon.

"I will not ask again. Where is the Zeno?" hissed the Lava lord to the huntress. Had her arms not been bond behind her, Hilda would've punched him, so she resort to spitting on his ugly face and smirked, "Go to hell."

Not liking her defiance, Thamuz turned towards his men and nodded. Following his command, they suddenly brought one of the younger women of Hilda's tribe and pressed a blade on the terrified woman's throat, "Tell me where she is or every one of your pathetic tribe dies!" threatened the demon while pressing the blade harder on the woman's neck while the woman could do nothing but whimper fearfully.

With the lives of her people in line, Hilda couldn't help but yell out, "No don't! This isn't their fault!"

"Then tell me where the Zeno is!"

Hilda gritted her teeth; she didn't want to betray her friend. But as Saya told her, 'A leader will have to make decisions and sacrifices that others cannot'; _'I hope you understand, Saya.'_

"They left the tribe. I don't know where they are right now, but they are most probably heading towards the crystal mountain."

Thamuz pondered on this information while him men approached him and awaited orders. Finally the Lava Lord turned towards them and ordered, "The Zeno is weakened right now. Ride fast and bring her to me alive!"

They didn't need to be told twice.

\---X---

As she neared the Mountain, Hanabi couldn't help but marvel at her surroundings. With gleaming Crystals everywhere, Hanabi felt like she had entered a treasury vault of a very rich and prosperous kingdom. While making her way further into the mountain, Hanabi saw a peculiar crystal. It was exactly mirror shaped and unlike blue like the crystals around her, this one was pure white.

When she approached it, Hanabi could see her own reflection on the smooth white surface of the crystal. Due to being in desert for so long, it was only natural that Hanabi had got a bit tan and she looked untidy and dirty but she noticed how she had change a bit since she had left Iga. Her training with Saya had paid off as she could see slender, feminine but defined muscles on the expose parts of her kimono. Hanabi undid her mask and looked at her face, although a bit roughened up due to all that she had been through; it still held the feminine beauty that a girl her age should have.

_'Yet, still.... Why doesn't he like me?'_

This though made Hanabi sad as she ran her hand across her reflection, _'Am I not pretty enough?'_

But as soon as she touched the crystal, the thing gave out a soft glow, causing Hanabi to immediately back off as the whole area trembled a bit. Hanabi was ready for trouble; however, she heard a faint whisper in her head.

**"Who goes there? What do you want?"**

Hanabi was very nervous right now. It was not every day that you would hear voices in your head. Still she replied hesitantly, "Um... I am Hanabi no Iga."

**"Hanabi? Hmm, I have heard of you. My kin whispered your name as you slayed them."**

Even more confused, Hanabi asked again, "I didn't slay anyone's kin. What are you talking about?"

**"Don't take me for a fool, Human. Weren't you the one who killed the Rock guardian and the Forest Guardian? The Symbols on your hand speaks an entirely new story. "**

Rubbing her hand where Hanabi had the 'Buff symbols', she spoke tentatively, "You mean the Stone Titan and the White Tooth?" ****

**"That's what the humans call them...... After they had been corrupted that is."**

This information made Hanabi pause for a while, "What do you mean corrupted?"

Hanabi felt a low rumble and the ground tremble slightly. The Voice in her head spoke once more, **"The Merciless Hunting of My Kin sent many of us seeking help from whatever means necessary. Many like me formed truce with the civilized race and lived in peace. Some of the less fortunate ones had to sought out help form the darker forces.."**

The girl gasped at this, "The Abyss..."

**"Indeed. Many of my brethren fell to the temptation of the Abyss. The Ones you call Stone Titan and White Tooth was some of them."**

"Okay.........I have to get back to my friend, so can you help me get out of this valley?"

**"I'm afraid I cannot help you."**

This made Hanabi pale, "What? Why?"

The voice spoke lowly, **"The Abyss has trying to take its hold over me for centuries. I had been able to resist them till now, But.... Now the Abyss grows stronger with each day. They have sent one of their Pioneers to corrupt the heart of the mountain. Unless he is stopped, I cannot help you."**

By now Hanabi got a jest of what the voice in her head wanted. Never the one to back down form a challange, Hanabi nodded anyways, "Tell me more about it."

\---X---

Saya could hear voices..... No, it was more like argument.

"I told you to bring her alive, not dead!"

"But My Lord, she was already dead when we reached her...."

She had no idea what was going on, but she was getting a feeling that something was not right.

"What of the Eastern girl?"

"She was not there when we reached there."

At the mention of the Eastern girl, something ignited inside her. Slowly with great effort, she stirred up. Her body ached and protested loudly, but still she was determined to get up.

"By the abyss....."

"Did she.....Did she just rose.... from death?"

Slowly her vision came back to her. The first thing she was a bunch of fire demons looking down upon her with flabbergasted expressions, confusing Saya as well. She looked around, dazed and confused. Then from the crowd of demons, a figure pushed through, "Step aside!"

The voice was awfully familiar. Saya looked up and her green eyes met with a pair of beautiful purple eyes. There before her, still as breath-taking as the first time she saw her, was the beautiful silver-haired blood demoness. With eyes filled with unnatural concern, Alice caressed her cheek and gave a small smile, "Hey."

Saya couldn't help by lean on her touch and reply back, "Hey."..............................


	30. Cleansing your demons

On the voice's request, Hanabi walked further into the Crystal Mountain. She soon found a huge cave and walked inside. A sudden chill filled the air as soon as she entered the cave. Gone was the warmth and pleasant nature of her surroundings and was replaced with a very heavy and eerie atmosphere. Something was wrong here. Something was horribly wrong.

"What is this place?" Hanabi asked.

The voice in her head echoed once more, **"This path leads towards the heart of the Mountain, where the Pioneer is corrupting it as we speak. I beg of you, hurry and stop him."**

The Kunoichi nodded and walked further deeper into the cave. The atmosphere grew colder with each step forward. Soon she reached a huge carven filled with crystals. There in the middle of the area was a huge piece of crystal which was glowing dimly in the dark.

"That must be the Heart of the Mountain. But where is the pioneer?"

Suddenly the voice in her head spoke once more, **"I must warn you though, The Pioneer is a master of illusions. He can see into your mind and turn your greatest fears against you. Be careful."**

Hanabi frowned at this, "You could've told me sooner!"

However she got no reply as she heard a loud and dreadful screech through the carven. A dark miasma appeared on the ground and it materialized into a tall dark figure clad in tattered robe. It pointed its magic staff towards Hanabi and hissed lowly, "Death awaits!"

(This thing but imagine it a lot more meaner)

\---X---

Alice was not sure what to say, or even think. She thought she had lost her, she thought she would never see her again. It was totally impossible, she herself had checked Saya's pulses and life force, and they were gone. The Sai'ore was completely lifeless when they had found her body. Yet here she was, with her head resting weakly on the crook on Alice's neck while The Demon Queen had her arms wrapped protectively around her.

But then again, she noticed the condition Saya was in. The state she was in right now really made Alice feel uneasy. She had been so used to seeing Saya as the unstoppable and proud warrior that the pathetic state she was in made Alice sad and angry beyond measure. All these emotions she was feeling right now was totally foreign for her, even if she had somewhat embraced it rather than trying to suppress it.

Alice shook her head; she had more important matters at hand right now, like the weakened woman in her arms. Turning towards the fire demons, the Blood Demon Queen demanded, "Bring me the rations."

Her order confused them all, "But, Milady...."

"Now!!"

\---X---

Hanabi dived out of the way as several magic bolts were thrown at her direction. The Pioneer growled and made a few more magic bolts in his hand before throwing them towards the Kunoichi, who was far more agile then she ever was. Smirking, Hanabi speaks arrogantly, "That's all you got?"

The Poineer sneered and stomped the ground with its staff. The ground trembled a bit and started breaking apart. However this was not due to an earthquake but something more troublesome. The crystal floor shattered apart and something broke out of it. With a back filled with crystals and about ten digits of limbs with two pincers, the best words to describe that abomination that sprout out of the ground would be a crystal crab, a giant crystal crab.

(This thing but a lot bigger and tougher)

Hanabi's eyes were wide as dinner plates at this. "I had to ask didn't I?"

The Crab screeched and charged towards her, Hanabi yelped and dashed away as the huge decapod tried to catch her with its pincers and to add more oil to the already raging fire; the Pioneer was now shooting magic blots at her.

"Kuso!" she cursed as a magic bolt gazed past her shoulder, burning the flesh a little. She hid behind a crystal pillar and caught her breath. Hanabi then pulled out Higanbana and threw it towards the Pioneer. Had the weapon hit him, it would've done quite a lot of damage but suddenly The Crab came in the way and due to its crystal skin, the chakram bounced harmlessly off its body.

"You gotta be kidding me."

Hanabi had to leave her cover as the crab came over and destroyed the pillar she had been hiding behind. Now she was back to square one.

It was clear that the Pioneer was responsible for controlling the crab and all Hanabi had to do was get a good hit on him, but the crab was determined not to let her do that and make her life miserable.

"This is the last time I am listening to voices in my head!" she yelled and dodges yet another attack for the Crab's pincer that would've turned her into a paste.

**"Go under its belly, the flesh there is softer."** The voice in her head suggested and it was clearly a very good suggestion.

"Maybe, I'll pass this one time." With that Hanabi dashed towards the giant crab, nothing any sane person would try to do.

With a screech, the crab tried to trample the masked girl but Hanabi avoided it and was now below the beast. Now directly under the crab, Hanabi readied her Chakram and used her most powerful technique on the beast.  
"Higanbana!" Hanabi yelled and threw her ninjutsu enforced chakram towards the beast's underbelly. As the voice promised, the belly was soft and her weapon went right through the softer chitinous plate.

The Crab screeched in pain before dropping dead.

The Pioneer looked very shocked while Hanabi looked upon him with sadistic look, "Got you now!" Hanabi lunged towards the now unprotected Pioneer with her kunais. However the Abyssal mage didn't panic because he still had another trick up his sleeve. "Not so fast, girl." suddenly he turned into a black mist that totally engulfed her.

Hanabi covered her eyes and coughed, "What the hell?"

She looked around but all she saw was an endless sea of darkness. Not liking what was going on, Hanabi readied her weapon and roared, "Show yourself coward!"

However a new voice suddenly spoke to her, "Hanabi, I see you've arrived." That voice sent a chill down Hanabi. Slowly she turned towards the source of the voice. What she saw stunned her.

"Sensei?"

\---X---

Saya was really still dazed; her mind was still numb and hazy. The beautiful White haired, Alice as she started to recall, slowly lead her away. Saya tried to think, she tried to remember what happened but then again, the only thing she could think about was how weak her body was right now. In no condition to resist anything, she was taken somewhere and made to sit down on some sort of chair. Through her blurry vision she saw that Alice was holding something towards her, it looked like a medium sized red fruit.

"Eat." The Demoness says and Saya obeyed without resistance. The sweet taste of the fruit was like a boon for her, it was like a medicine to the churning she felt in her stomach and the Sai'ore dugged in without an ounce of decency. Her senses more acute now, Saya's eyes darted towards her surroundings, she was in a dimly lit champ with only occupants being herself and the Demoness beside her. Speaking of the demoness, Alice could now let out a sigh in relief as Saya was now being more responsive towards her surroundings.

With her senses now somewhat restored, the first thing she sensed or rather smell was the delicious aroma of hot food. That was when she realised that before her was a table and it was filled to the brim with food. Cooked meat, fruits and bread as well, this was all too good to be true because Saya soon found out that her remaining arm was shackled with a chain. If this was some sort of cruel trick by the Abyss then it was really not funny. However Alice then spoke out, "You should eat." The concern in her voice was genuine; it was enough to calm down Saya. The chain that shackled her right arm was long enough to actually let her move around but not long enough to reach out of the champ, meaning that they really didn't want her to leave.

Not that she could right now anyways. She was still quite weak, however belly full of food was a welcome idea so taking Alice's advice, Saya reached out and started eating. She might as well gather her strength when she can.

Alice watch in mild fascination as Saya devoured the food worth feeding ten people literally single handedly. She could actually see how Saya's once skinny figure was gradually gaining tone as she consumed. This was all due to Saya's extremely fast metabolism that could readily digest and utilize the food she ate to repair quickly her body. That's the reason why, Saya took extra care to hide her left arm, which was supposedly not there.

Soon Saya was done and thanked Alice for the meal, however then the situation started getting more heated when a new personality entered the vicinity.

"What do you mean, she is now alive and eating?" the two could hear from outside the camp. Alice had a good guess who this figure was but Saya was still clueless. Her curiosity was sated however as the veil covering the camps' entrance was burned down and in came Thamuz.

He looked furious at first but his anger then changed into amusement when his gaze met that of Saya, "So we finally meet, Zeno."

\---X---

Hanabi stood absolutely shell-shocked as The Scarlet Shinobi Master or as Hanabi referred him as, Sensei, looked at her with disgust. "Look at you, abhorring our traditions, spitting on our legacy and learning the ways of an incompetent race. You bring nothing but disgrace to our clan."

The Kunoichi flinched at this and tried to reason, "But sensei, you must understand. I did this so that I can...."

"Silence! They were right, you are weak. 'He' is far better than you are..." these words stung Hanabi deeply. She hung her head in despair, but suddenly the voice in her head boomed once more, **"I warned you, Kinslayer. The Pioneer can use your greatest fears against you. This is all but an illusion. You need not fear it."**

Realizing what the voice was trying to say, Hanabi looked at the Sensei, or his illusion furiously, "Your nothing but an illusion!" she slashed the man and he fade away into the darkness.

However, another voice spoke, "Illusion I may be, but I speak the truth." Hanabi froze at the sound of the voice. She turned around and came face to face, with 'Him'.

'He' smirked and spoke cruelly, "You were always brash, always ill tempered. I am better than you, and you know it."

"Shut up!" Hanabi yelled and slashed 'His' illusion as well, making him disappear as well.

But soon more of them appeared and constantly chanted, "Brash, impatient and ill tempered. You are weak Hanabi." In rage Hanabi roared and kept attacking all the illusions before her. All reason was lost to her, only anger. She even ignored the voice in her head to get a hold of herself, because she was just so angry. Finally she cut the last illusion but even the last illusion faded away by commenting one thing, "This just proves my point."

Panting heavily Hanabi looked around for more illusion. Feeling someone behind her, Hanabi turned back to attack once again, but stopped dead on her track when she noticed who it was, "S-Saya-chan?"

There before her stood Saya, yet she didn't spoke a single word. She only held an expression of disappointment. This stung Hanabi more than any word could ever hurt her.

Gone was Saya's warmth and affection, it was replaced with an unfamiliar coldness and the disappointed look in her face was like as if Saya was telling her, "You were a waste of time. You can never change. You're still weak."

Hanabi knew that this was just an illusion but still, Saya's unspoken words hurt her far most. This was probably because Hanabi trusted Saya more than she had trusted anyone in her life. Hanabi couldn't help but fall to her knees and feel tears well up in her eyes.

Saya's figure faded away as well. Then another voice boomed throughout the darkness, "Hahaha, Pathetic." A new illusion formed before, and this one was the one that Hanabi truly didn't want to face. It was Hanzo, but he looked different. He started growing till he was gigantic and looked like a monster straight out of Hanabi's worst nightmare. This was what Hanabi feared the most. The monster laughed maniacally, "Weak and pathetic. You are not even worthy of being devoured by Ame no Habakiri. I will end your pathetic life!"

The Kunoichi whimpered and hid her face in her hands. She couldn't do this, she was too weak.

_'They are right. I am weak, I am pathetic. It's best that I just.....go away.'_

All hope seemed lost, but then again, Hanabi remembers.

She remembers all that she had been through, her rough training, her drive to prove herself, her journey to the Land of Dawn.......Her meeting with Saya.

This made Hanabi feel guiltier. She believed that she had been wasting Saya's time till now. That she was but a burden, a burden that wasn't needed. Hanabi pulled out a kunai and aimed it towards her heart. "It's for the best, I'm sorry Saya-chan." Mumbles Hanabi, she was about to stab herself, but then again, she remembers another thing.

She remembers the time she spent with Saya, their journey, their training. Hanabi remembers. She remembers Saya's soft smiles that were as radiant as the sun, or her laughs that were sweeter than honey. She remembers those delicious foods she would cook for her, and those motherly concerns she shower whenever Hanabi was in trouble. Those warm hands that would hug her whenever she was feeling down and those deep green eyes filled with unconditional love and adoration.

Finally she remembers Saya's words, "I believe in you, meha Neha. Now you must believe in yourself." These words served as a realization. A realization of how selfish she was being, without even considering what Saya feel like when she found out that her beloved Hanabi was no more. Saya's current condition came to her as a crushing reminder, she couldn't go now. Not when she had so much to live for.

With a new determination, Hanabi opened her eyes. They once held fear, but now, they had nothing but courage and determination, with fire enough to chase away any darkness. Hanzo's illusion was shocked at this, "Impossible! You cannot escape my mind trap, who are you?"

Looking at him in the eyes, Hanabi declared boldly, "The Scarlet flower." With that she lunged forward and stabbed the Illusion in the chest.

The darkness around her dissipated and Hanabi found herself again in the crystal carven. The Pioneer lay prone on the ground with a kunai embedded in his chest, "How...?" was his last word before his life force ended.

Hanabi sighed and dropped to her knees. She was panting heavily but was proud of herself that she was able to overcome her fears, "I did it, Saya-chan. I did it."

\---X---

The Lava Lord Thamuz circled Saya with judging eyes, "You don't seem much different from an elf. Just a tad bit taller, however the power you showed is extra ordinary." He came closer to the Sai'ore and hissed once more intimidating, "Care to show it again?"

Yet still Saya composed herself perfectly and answered, "I'm afraid that would be the least beneficial for both of us, Lava Lord Thamuz."

Her regal tone and composed demeanour surprised Thamuz. He chuckled in amusement. Turning towards Alice, "Now I understand why you fancy this creature. The Zeno has some guts. Fine lets be off then."

However Saya defied verbally, "I am not going anywhere."

Thamuz was now nearing his limit but Alice was the one to butt in before things got too out of hand, "Please, Saya. Come quietly, don't make this harder." This was the first time Alice was calling Saya by her name. Her desperation and frustration shocked both Saya and Thamuz. The Sai'ore lowered her head, "You know I cannot do that, meha Kari. I still have to find someone."

Her words stung Alice. It frustrated her for no matter what she did, she was doing to for Saya's own good, but the Ex-Empress was still stubborn.

"Fine... You leave me no other choice then." Mumble Alice ominously, making Saya frown. Suddenly the fire demons rushed into the camp. What made Saya's eyes widen in shock was that each of them had taken Hilda and the rest of her tribe as hostage.

Saya looked towards Alice pleadingly, "You wouldn't..."

However Alice spoke sternly, "You will come with us, or these people shall die."

"Don't do this!" Yelled Hilda but she was silenced when a fire demon punched her once more.

Alice then turned towards Saya once more, "Make your choice."

The Sai'oren really didn't want to go. Hanabi was out there and who knows what trouble she had already brought upon herself. Saya wanted to find her and make sure she was safe, but then again, she didn't want these innocents to die because of her as well. Feeling defeated, Saya asked softly, "If I come with you, Will you spare them?"

With a new hope in her heart Alice nodded, "You have my word."

The Sai'ore sighed, "Okay. I will come with you."

No sooner had she said this, the very ground beneath their feet trembled violently. Then they heard a very loud roar. Whatever it was,it sounded very big and Saya couldn't help but ask, "What did you do now, Hana?"........................ 


	31. The Moving Mountain

Hanabi remained kneeling, panting heavily while trying to catch her breath. The entire commotion had been very exhausting for her mentally, physically and even emotionally. But she did, she was able to overcome her greatest fear that was her own self doubt. For too long she had been so focused on bettering herself, never even thinking that she could never get better unless she would let go of her own self doubt.

For so long she had been masking her insecurities behind her proud and boastful nature, never having the courage to actually face her flaws and veiled it with a wall. Yet the Pioneer had broken right through it and made her face it. She had nearly cracked and crumbled, she was ready to give up and end her own misery......Had it not been for her.

_'Saya...'_

It was really funny how the elf-like woman had done so much for her in the little time they had known each other then most of the people she knew for years. She was always there when Hanabi needed her. Even now; it was because of Saya's image that inspired Hanabi to overcome her greatest fear. Saya was right; she just had to believe in herself. Something that not even Hanabi could've been able to do with herself, yet Saya did. She saved her yet again.

Slowly Hanabi got back on her feet. She had to get back to Saya now, so she spoke out aloud, "I did what you ask for; now keep your end of the bargain!"

Suddenly a deep voice rumbled throughout the cave, **"Of course."**

The entire cave trembled and Hanabi felt the ground beneath her feet shift and a loud roar was heard. Hanabi quickly rushed out of the cave as the roof started collapsing. However she halted just outside the cave.

Why?

Because Hanabi discovered why the cave had collapsed. The mountain was now moving. Like literally walking and moving.

"I don't think this is a mountain....."

\---X---

When the supposed earth quake shook the entire champ, it created a discord amongst the demons of the area. Perfect distraction and all the time Hilda needed.

Using all her strength, the brutish woman head butted the demon that was holding her, dazing it for a while. Hilda then used her chains of her shackles to chock the life out of the Abyss dweller. The other demons were quickly alerted by this and were about to come and attack Hilda, had not the men of her tribe immediately started fighting back as well.

"Stop them!"

With most of the demons now busy with the tribe, Saya now got the chance to set herself free as well. She yanked hard on her shackled wrist, but the metal was far stronger to be broken. Her hand however.....

Taking a deep breath, Saya used a bit of Maya to boost her arm muscles and yanked fast and hard. Hard enough to forcefully yank her arm free from the shackle and successfully destroy her wrist bones. Saya couldn't help but roar in pain as her hand hurt so much even if it was started to heal, but atleast she was free now.

But her scream had pulled attention of the demons and some were already upon her. But the Sai'oren Empress was ready. With skills on par with that of a professional kick-boxer, Saya kicked a demon that was charging at her head on and sent him on the ground. She then ducked under a sword slash meant for her and used her legs to hook the demon and make him fall back first. The first demon she had kicked had now recovered and tried to run her with his sword but Saya danced around the attack and hit him hard in his face with her elbow (Because her hand was broken, not her elbow).

By now her wrist had healed as well, so she quickly snatched the disoriented demon's long sword (Which looked very similar to her long sword) and used the sword to end the demon. With a proper weapon in her hand, Saya quickly dispatched the other demon that she had sent to the ground by her hooking leg.

Hilda and rest of her tribe then gathered around her as the demons now surrounded them, "Hell of a party, isn't it sister?" the huntress joked.

Saya frowned, "I had already arranged for your safe release..."

"And let you be taken by these scum-bags? Don't think so sister." Countered Hilda.

The Lava Lord Thamuz seemed pissed when he stood in front of his men and roared, "Enough of these games. The deal is cancelled, now all of you will die!"

What nobody expected was a black horse to suddenly burst into the camp and kick away the Fire demon lord with its hind-limbs, shocking everyone, especially Saya, who muttered out breathlessly, "Nhari?"

The old warhorse gave and expression akin to, "Who else did you expect?"

Hilda laughed at this, "Your horse is one tough old girl ..... Let's get out of here."

Taking advantage of the flabbergasted state of the demons, Saya, Hilda and her tribe bolted out of the champ when they got the chance.

Hild a led her people further deeper into the canyons to lose the demons. Saya followed them as well, but still, one though was eating her away. _'Where is Hanabi?'_

So lost she was in thought that she forgot to pay attention to her surrounding and bumped into Hilda, who for some reason had stopped in her tracks, instead of going further.

"What happened?" Saya asked.

Hilda answered without turning, "I think we found the reason why there was an earth quake." The huntress pointed ahead of her and Saya followed her hand. What she saw shell-shocked her. 

As colossal as a mountain, the beast that walked before her looked like an enormous turtle with crystals jutting out of its back. It was big, bigger than any being they had ever seen. It was clear why the earth quake hit them as each step of the beast shook the entire ground.

It awed and fascinated them all, that such a beast existed. However, Saya frowned and observed the beast with squinted eyes. That was when she saw something that nearly stopped her heart. There on the crystal beast was Hanabi.

\---X---

The Kunoichi held on to the wall tightly. She then speaks once more, "So you're the beast of the Crystal Mountain? I had read about you, the Great Turtle, right?"

**"That is a name you Humans gave me. But yes, I am what you think I am."** The beast speaks to her as he climbed out of the grove where he had been living for so long.

Hanabi tried not to look down and asked, "So, where are you going?"

**"I have been in here for a long time. Now wish to go back to the sea from where I came from originally."** He answered truth fully.

"Okay, so, drop me off where ever you can would you?" asked Hanabi.

**"Of course."**

Suddenly the wall she was holding on to gave away and Hanabi slipped off. She would've fallen all the way down the mountain sized turtle had she not held on to one of the many crystals jutting out of the beast's back.

Holding on to it for her dear life as a cliff hanger, Hanabi screamed, "I DIDN'T MEAN LITERALLY DAMN IT!"

\---X---

"Is that Hanabi?" asked Hilda with dumbstruck expression as she saw that the Kunoichi was hanging from the beast comically with anime tears falling down her eyes like waterfall.

The scene was hilarious for most but horrifying for Saya. "I'm coming, Neha!" the Sai'ore yelled, she quickly mounted her horse and galloped after the beast even after Hilda's protest.   
"Damn. You must be in quite a hurry." Hilda jokes to herself. However she didn't have much time to ponder on it as soon she heard voices of the fire demons that were chasing after her.

"There they are! After them!"

Hilda cursed at this, "I guess we should hurry as well."

\---X---

Saya now rode beside the turtle as it made its slow pace towards the end of the canyons. She was really grateful for Nhari's bold nature because most animals would've run away at the mere sight of such a colossal creature like the turtle, let along gallop alongside it as its giant feet that left impressions as big as ten houses as it walked.

Slowly Saya stood up on the horse's saddle, while muttering, "Steady girl."

The Turtle brought its feet down to take a step; this was when Saya leaped off Nhari and held on to the turtle's leg with all her might.

With the first step of the plan finished, Saya looked up at the turtle she would have to scale to reach her human girl. This would not even pose problem for her in most cases but right now, Saya had still to re-grow her left arm and climbing with just one arm was impossible. The Sai'ore held on to the turtle with her only existing arm and gritted her teeth. She had to do this, she must do this. Saya was not going to lose Hanabi. Not now, not ever. Her eyes flashed white for a split second before she leaped upwards, "I am coming, Neha!"

\---X---

Hanabi's grip around the crystal was slipping. Panicking, Hanabi tried to climb back up but due to her movement, the crystal gave away even further and bent downwards, causing Hanabi to scream in fright.

"Kuso!" she cursed and tried once more, but she could feel that her strength was slowly betraying her. "No!" She yells and tried to get back up but no avail. She really didn't want to go like this, not when she had finally started to believe that she could do better, when she could've done so much better.

As her hand slipped further, Hanabi cried out the only name she could think of and let go, "Saya!"

She fell; she could feel her body become weightless as she fell. Hanabi was not ready for this, but still, she was expecting hard ground to greet her all the way down.

Then a miracle happened.

An arm wrapped around her protectively and ended her fall. Slowly Hanabi, opened her eyes and met with a pair of green snake like eyes, which contrasting its nature held, warmth and concern like no other. Hanabi would recognise those eyes anywhere. Her Saya was here once again.

"Are you okay, Neha?" the woman asks with worry, Hanabi answered by hugging her tightly, "I am now." This caused Saya to blush bright red, but smile nonetheless. "Now, would you mind explaining how did you ended up here?" asked Saya.

Hanabi looked away with an embarrassed face, "I....it's a long story." Then the kunoichi realized another thing and started panicking, "Oh my god, you only have one hand, how did you get up here?"

The Sai'ore grinned sheepishly and pointed her back. It was then Hanabi noticed that four ethereal snakes had sprouted out of Saya's back and was acting as additional limbs for Saya (The same technique Saya had used against Hanzo)

"Oh."

The two laughed at this. Soon the laughter died down and Saya pulled both herself and Hanabi up and at the entrance of the cave from where Hanabi had slipped from. Finally back on the ground (at least on solid surface and not hanging a thousand feet in the air) Hanabi let out a sigh of relief. "I'm alive!..." she exclaims merrily. Then her demeanour turns sour, "When I said drop me off, I didn't mean literally!" she screams towards the cave, confusing Saya. "Uh, Neha, are you okay?" she was starting to get concerned about the human girl but then a huge voice boomed, **"I did what you asked for, it was you who failed to instruct me properly."**

Hanabi would've argued even more had not Saya suddenly pointed out. "Look, Hilda and her people are in trouble. We need to help them!"

The Sai'ore was ready to climb down the turtle but Hanabi stopped her, "Wait, I have a better idea."........................


	32. Overcoming the Fire

"Come one move it!" barked Hilda, trying with all her might to save the remaining fifteen of her people. The Fire demons were closing towards them and they went further deeper into the trenches.

So busy they were to try and elude the demons that they didn't realized that they had made a wrong turn and now found themselves before a huge cliff, it was a dead end.

"Quickly, everyone get out of here!" Hilda commanded once more but she was too late. The only place they had left to get out of there was from where they had came from, and to their misfortune, the demons had already arrived and was now standing on the only way they could take, essentially blocking any possible escape.

"Looks like it's the hard way then..." Muttered Hilda and pulled out her massive axe, her personal favourite hunting weapon. The demons were not in the mood of giving any mercy, so there was no declaration for chances of surrender this time, but this was better. Hilda would rather die in a glorious battle than surrender and be tortured to death.

"People of the Wilderness, stand with me. Today we make our last stand. Let's show these scum-bags that the real warriors are here!" her war cry was enough to rally the remaining of the tribe. Men, women, everyone now stood beside her, ready to give their life in this last stand.

"Charge, Don't be a jelly!" Hilda roared and her people followed.

The Demons simply charged up their fire balls, intending to turn them to ashes in a single attack....But then, suddenly, a beam of white energy came crushing down upon them and killed a fair portion of the demons. The shocked on lookers turned towards the source of the attack and were astonished to see the hulking form of the Turtle stumbling towards them. However Hilda was very quick to notice the two figures that were on the head of the turtle and smirked, "You guys are really something else."

\---X---

There standing on the gargantuan turtle was none other than Saya and Hanabi.

"I am still amazed how you are able to actually convince this mighty beast to help us." Marvelled Saya, still awed by the sheer size of their unlikely ally.

"Hehe, actually I helped him back then and now he owes me for nearly trying to kill Me." chirped Hanabi happily.

**"That's** **a false accusation. You were the one who was not specific with your words."** The huge creature boomed back defensively.

"But I nearly died. So be a dear and help us kick some demon buttocks." Replied Hanabi.

The turtle grumbled lowly, **"Fine."** The crystals on his back lit up bright white before he let out yet another beam of energy attack upon the demons below on the cliff side.

"Wow, I didn't know you could do that?" muttered Hanabi.

**"There are many things you don't know, Human."**

The energy beam form the turtle had killed over a dozen more of the fire demons. Knowing that they had a threat more dangerous than Hilda's tribe, the Fire demon's shot fire balls towards the giant beast. Many explosions rocked the beast as the fire balls made contact with the Turtle and since he was such a big target, it was very hard to miss him.

Saya was quick to pull Hanabi to safety but the turtle had to take the entire force of the attack and frankly, for creatures so small compared to the turtle, the fire balls actually hurt.

Not one to be left out and ignored, Hilda and her people charged into the fray, "Get out of the way!" the brutish woman yelled and attacked head on.

Saya saw this and curse, "We need to get down there or the tribe will be decimated." Hanabi nodded and yelled to the turtle to help them down. Although still being attacked by a barrage of fire balls, the turtle did as asked and lowered his head till it was on level of the cliff. Saya and Hanabi jumped off the turtle and joined the skirmish as well.

True that the demons were bigger in numbers than the tribe, however, the demons were in a tight situation. They were essentially being attacked by two fonts because if they would try to concentrate on the tribe who was fighting them on close quarters, the Giant Turtle would blast them off with its energy attack. But if they would focus of the turtle, the melee attacks of the Tribesmen were more than a match against them.

They even tried to burn the tribesmen to ashes, but this was easier said than done. Fighting alongside them was Saya, who although had only one arm was far from handicapped. She still fought like none other and whenever the demons threw fire towards them, Saya would use her ethereal snake to deflect those attacks as the Maya energy based nature of her powers was very effective in deflecting them.

Hanabi was right in her element right now as her weapon of choice was exactly designed to deal with large masses and she was totally dominating the battle field with her petal barrage technique. Then again, most would've said that she would be very weak in close quarters but that was before, with Saya's training, Hanabi was now equally as deadly in close quarter as she was in ranged combat, thus making her even more efficient in the battle. Saya couldn't have been more proud.

Slowly but steadily, the numbers of the Fire demons were getting lower. The combined might of the people of Wilderness, the Turtle, the Scarlet flower and The Sai'oren Empress was too much for them to handle.

Till now, the Lava lord could only watch with frustrated anger as his forces were being mowed down like cattle in slaughter house. With boiling rage, he looked at the one that had destroyed his whole ploy, the one who ruined it all, the Human Ninja girl. Yelling bloody murder, the Fire Demon Lord charged towards her.

Hanabi saw him coming and hurled kunais towards him, but to her utter horror, those metal knives just melted away before it could even reach him. "You will burn!!" he yelled, his molten scythes ready to burn her to ashes. However, before he could even reach her, Saya was already on to him. With all her might, the Sai'oren shoulder bashed him, causing both of them to tumble over and fall down the cliff.

They all could only watch in utter horror as the fire demon lord and Saya disappeared down the seemingly endless dept of the chasm below.

"SAYA!" Hanabi cried.

\---X---

They had no idea how deep they fell but judging by the time it tool for them to finally reach the ground, it must've been pretty deep. Saya hissed in pain, as the lower part of her body was quite a mess. Her left shoulder was charred because that was the same shoulder she had used to shoulder bash Thamuz. Luckily her Maya was healing her body quickly.

Suddenly she heard someone groan. Soon she found out that Thamuz had fallen a couple of feet away from her position. He seemed dazed and there were cracks on his stone like skin, especially his chest area where she could see a fairly large fissure. Groggily he stood up and looked around in confusion, however that changed as soon as he saw Saya and became angry as hell, "You!!!"

He charged towards her and held her by the neck, his hands burning her neck considerably. Fortunately her legs had healed by now and she used them to kick the demon with enough force to stagger him and loosen the grip around her neck.

Saya nursed her neck while they healed and glared at her opponent. Thamuz growled and readies his scythes, "Let's see if you heal after I turn you to ashes." She answered by hissing and blaring her sharp fangs threateningly.

Thamuz roared and charged at the woman. Saya charged at him as well with her sword held in one hand. He slashed at her with his weapon which Saya dodged wisely. It was clear that the molten and hot nature of Thamuz's attacks meant that it would be wise to avoid his attacks rather than to try and parry it.

The Empress was skilful enough to dance around every attack that Thamuz threw towards her, frustrating the demon to his near breaking point, "Stand still coward!!"

But this was all pointless as well. Saya had no idea if there was any way she could possibly harm the demon she was currently fighting. Suddenly her eyes fell on crack that Thamuz had on his chest and a new idea struck Saya's mind.

Quickly, Saya dashed towards Thamuz, shocking the demon momentarily because this was the first time she was going offensive in their long fight. In response, Thamuz used his scythe's to attack her, but he missed her as Saya was too fast for him and she was already within his guard. Holding her sword in a firm grip, Saya made a brief eye contact with Thamuz, causing him to pause a moment by the sheer furiosity her eyes held. Gritting her teeth, Saya shoved her entire sword through the crack in Thamuz's chest, causing him to yowl in pain. The Sai'ore twisted the sword and growled, "You done now."

The Fire Lord looked back at her angrily and hissed with raspy breath "Am I?" before Saya could figure out what he said, she was suddenly thrown away by a shock wave as fire sprouted out of Thamuz's body. The fire was hot, so hot that the very ground he stood on was melting as the area around him was coated with hellish flames. Saya groaned in pain as most of her body was now covered with burns, but still she managed to wobble up on her feet and look at her adversary.

"Have to say, that trick with the sword nearly got me." Admitted Thamuz while pulling out the sword from his chest. Due to his extreme heat, the sword had actually melted and all that remained was a hilt that too melted away in his grip , "But in the end, fire burns all."

The fire of his body sent out another heat wave, causing Saya to struggle to even stand up. She could feel her body burning away as the Lava Lord walked closer. Thamuz laughed cruelly, "Now, let's see if you heal when you are incinerated?"

The heat started rising even more and Saya was now having problem standing straight. Her upper clothes had burnt away by now and all that was left was her blister and burn covered flesh. Even Saya knew this, she couldn't hold on much longer.

Then suddenly, she felt cold. Not the pleasant kind of cold, but the excruciating frost biting cold. Saya was really confused for she had no idea what was happening. She held her chest, the part where the cold was originating from and that was when she realized where the cold was coming from, the relic Alice had gave her, The Winter Truncheon. Soon Ice started covering her body, it negated the effects of the fire but soon it covered her entire body till the point Saya could now no longer move.

"Enough!" a very familiar figure entered the vicinity.

Thamuz glared at the form of the Blood Demoness and roared, "Damn it, Woman. I was about to kill this miserable whence!"

Alice glared at him and growled back, "We were to bring her back, not kill her!" with that the demoness stood before the frozen Sai'ore.

Although Saya couldn't move or speak, the look of betrayal was clear as crystal on her frozen face. It filled Alice with guilt like none other. Slowly she cupped Saya's cheek and spoke softly, "I am so sorry, Saya. But I cannot watch you die. This is for your own good, please understand."

Thamuz grumbled in an annoyed voice, "Fine, I will not kill the Zeno. But... I will have fun killing those humans she cares so much about, starting with that kunoichi." He laughs out loud evilly.

A mistake he would pay for.

His words echoed in Saya's mind several times. Each time it made her angrier than before. Saya was normally a calm and collective woman and she was rarely angry, because when she is angry.......... You will not like her.

A deep primal rage ignited inside her, one that she had not felt for a long time.

_'This creature dares to threaten what that is mine?'_

The two felt it, the density of energy levels rising from within the frozen form of Saya. This shocked the two of them. Thamuz looked at Alice with worry, "I thought you said, she would be neutralized?"

Alice glanced at Saya's form nervously, "Well, I did.." the energy was now getting higher and higher, till the point the blood demoness had to fly away just in time as the frozen statue exploded.

Then an extremely angry voice boomed furiously, "Touch a hair on her body, and I will burn this pathetic world down to the ground along with you and your entire pathetic race!"

The un-characteristic malice and anger in Saya's voice surprised Thamuz but the Fire Demon knew that this was not just an empty threat. The woman before him, he recognises the look of utter anger and furiosity in her eyes. This was no longer the calm and collected Zeno he met. This was an enraged beast who will back up her word if she so chooses to..............Thamuz liked it.

"You cannot burn a Fire demon, Zeno. I am fire incarnate!" He roared back.

Saya growled and held an ice shard that had been lying on the ground. Given the magical nature of the ice, it had not melted even due to Thamuz's fire. Slowly the ice enclosed her entire right arm till it formed sort of like a gauntlet on her arm. She hissed angrily, "Then I will just use hotter flames."

Thamuz charged at her and used his fire scythes to cut her, but to his shock, Saya immediately caught the weapon made of molten lava with her existing hand and due to the ice gauntlet, she was left unharmed by its temperature. Then Saya redirected the attack elsewhere and punched Thamuz so hard in the face that he felt his cheek bone crack.

The fire Demon fell on the ground, while Saya stood over him. She scoffed and growled "Ja'had, get up and fight."

Thamuz gritted his teeth and stood up immediately. Roaring loudly, He threw his weapon towards Saya. His scythe's combine and formed a sort of spinning blades as it moved towards her. But Saya causally side stepped away from it. Thamuz immediately leaped towards her as his weapons flew back towards him. With a mighty effort, he plunged his weapons where Saya had been standing moments ago but to his frustration, Saya had already moved out of the way.

He tried again and threw his weapons but Saya deflected that moved using her ethereal snakes, "That will not work twice."

"Damn you!" The Lava lord in his final desperate attempt tried to charge head on, But Saya came in as well. Avoiding a clumsy claw swipe form Thamuz, Saya pulled back her fist and punched right through the crack on Thamuz's chest. Saya gritted her teeth and put more power and effort in her attack till her entire arm went right through Thamuz's chest.

The Lava lord stood shell shocked. Slowly, Saya pulled out her arm, leaving a gaping hole through Thamuz's chest where his heart was supposed to be. The Lava lord stumbled a bit and fell to his knee while Saya just stood before him with impassive eyes.

With laboured breaths, Thamuz spoke, "For so long I have been serving the Dark Lord of the Abyss, always believing that only the strong deserve to live, I was right. You, Zeno, are strong. Therefore you have the right to live."

Saya shook her head, "I suppose...."

Thamuz chuckled at this, "It's funny. You are not like those other heros. Blinded by the veil of good and evil, I can see it in your eyes; you have blood on your hand as well, many innocent bloods..."

The Ex-Empress spoke passively, "Sometimes, What the world needs is a Hero, sometimes, a world needs a tyrant."

"Then tell me, Why look after the weak humans?"

Saya sighed looked up, "When you've lived as long as me, you will often forget what exactly is the right way to live......I am just tired of the other way of living. Just like how I might get tired of this way of living as well."

Thamuz nodded and finally fell down on his back, "You are something else, Saya Mahira...." With that, The Lave lord was no more......................................


	33. A new Home

Alice just couldn't believe her eyes. Although she was at odds with him, Thamuz was still one of the most powerful warriors the Abyss had to offer, yet Saya was able to defeat him, literally single handedly. This was not that was supposed to happen; this was not what she had planned.

The Demon Queen landed on the ground and looked at Thamuz's lifeless figure. Never would she've thought that one day she would see him in such a state, yet here he was, lifeless as a rock with his ambers cold and subsided. Then another figure stood before Alice, making her tense.

She slowly looked up, standing before her was Saya. The wounds on her body had healed, leaving behind new flawless skin, her forest green hair cascaded down her shoulders like locks of emeralds. Alice felt her breath hitch a bit as she took in the sight before. This beautiful and fiercely powerful woman, that had somehow managed to make her feel so much deeper than Alice could've ever imagined.

Slowly Saya walked forward towards Alice, the Demoness expected that the Sai'ore would lash out. Why would she not? Alice had practically betrayed her and the demoness just closed her eyes and awaited the pain she was expecting, but what she got was a tenderly placed hand on her cheek which caressed her affectionately.

Alice now looked straight into Saya's eyes, her beautiful green eyes. It held so many emotions, sadness, a bit of disappointment but most of it was still the fondness that Saya surprisingly held for her. The very thing Alice got addicted to. Slowly Saya closed in and did something no other soul in entire Land of Dawn would've done; she wrapped her in a loving embrace.

This was too much for Alice to handle and so the wall that she had been holding for a thousand years broke. That day was indeed a day to be remembered as for the first time in her very long life, Alice the Queen of the Blood Demons, servant of the Abyss and the bringer of Apocalypse, cried.

Tears of both sorrow and joy fell down her eyes as she hugged back Saya dearly. Alice had never done or felt like this before, it was very alien for her, yet still tears flew down her eyes like any other mortal. All her pent up frustration, anger, sorrow and worry, it was like a dam that finally gave away and broke.

She wanted to say so many things, like how worried she was and how glad that Saya was okay or she was sorry that she had to do those things against Saya but then again she was so scared of losing her. Alice never had a weakness, never in a millennium yet the very thought of somehow losing the woman who held her was utterly terrifying. She wanted to say all these but just couldn't find words to say it.

Turns out she didn't needed them.

Her tearful eyes were enough for Saya to understand. She understands the feelings and words Alice was trying to say. She allowed Alice to lean on to her as the Demoness wept at the crook of her neck, letting it all out, so it took a good while for Alice's sobs to finally die down.

Then hard reality came crushing down upon the demoness and Alice parted away from Saya, causing the Sai'ore to frown. Alice shook her head frantically, "No, You don't understand. The Abyss will chase after you for eternity. They will not stop. Please, if you just come with me, I can protect you."

Slowly Saya held Alice's hand and gave a tender kiss on her knuckles. Then she spoke the words that shocked Alice to her core, "Then come with me, meha Kari."

Alice was shell shocked for a while, "Are you insane? All of the Abyss will be after your blood!" However Saya's answer astounded her.

Standing tall and proud, Saya declared, "For you, I will battle a thousand Abyss if I must." Her words were truthful; Alice could see it in her eyes. Saya was not afraid; she was willing to literally do what she said because she meant it from the bottom of her heart. Buts still, Alice looked away, "I have done many bad things, Saya. The people, your people will never forgive me."

But Saya suddenly held Alice's shoulder and making her look Saya in her eyes, "I know, But I don't care."

"How can you be so accepting?" Shot Alice back.

Saya sighed, "I have been.....many things in my long life, meha Kari. So I will not judge that which I had been through."

"And what of the others? They will never accept me."

The Sai'ore frowned, "Does that matter? What I want is you, not their approval." These were the words that truly touched Alice. Saya meant what she said. She accepted her for who she was, she doesn't care what others think and she was ready to go against anyone that would threaten Alice.

Never had someone said those words to Alice. Here was this woman, a Zeno form another world, who saw past her shell of a demoness. Who saw past what even Alice herself couldn't see, the only person in existence who loved her.

Alice hugged Saya once more. The feeling of total acceptance and genuine concern was something Alice was really starting to love. If there was anyplace she could've called home, it would be in Saya's arm. She wanted to be with her, she never wanted to leave Saya ever again.

But then again reality dawned upon her. True Saya was willing to go to any lengths for Alice, she also knew of the relentless and cruel nature of the Abyss. It would only be a matter of time and they would find her beloved and put her through unthinkable nightmare. A fate she doesn't want Saya to go through. Saya was strong, but she had her limits. For so long Alice had been selfish and cruel, but now, she had something else she held very dear to her. She had found a new reason to live for other than just power. Now it was time to protect that thing, even if it means that Saya might end up hating her.

Suddenly without a warning, Alice stabbed Saya in the back, causing Saya's eyes to widen in shock. Then Alice shoved her away, but was still unable to look at her face with held a betrayed expression.

"Alice?"

Straightening herself, Alice spoke coldly, "I am Alice of the Blood demons, servant of Abyss. I will not betray my master for something as trivial such as this." Only Alice knew just how much strength she was using to not break down under Saya's hurt eyes.

Alice's words were like spears piercing through Saya's heart. It hurt her more than any weapon could. The Sai'ore lowered her head and spoke with a small voice, "If that is what you wish, I will respect your decision." The tone was heart breaking for Alice and she had to turn around to just hide her tears that were now falling freely.

Saya slowly turned around and held the charm Alice had given her tightly. Slowly she walked away, leaving Alice alone. Once she was gone, Alice finally fell down on her knees and cried. It hurt, it hurt so much. But this was for Saya's own good. Had Alice gone with Saya they would've provoked the wrath of the entire Abyss, but Alice was still inside the circle of command in The Abyss. She could use her sway inside the Abyss to protect Saya, but to do so; Alice had to make sure that Saya would not follow her to the Abyssal plane.

The Blood demoness saw something on the ground; it was a small tattered scarf. Alice came near to it and picked it up, she recognised the smell immediately. It was Saya's. Her heart went heavy with sorrow at this and she held the scarf close to her once cold heart that had started beating again. This was the sacrifice she made for the one thing she had started caring for. One who was once her enemy, whom she had fallen for accidentally. Alice wiped her tears and mumbled, "Please, forgive me, my Darling. But this I did for your own safety. We will be together again.........I promise."

\---X---

The fight had been far from over, when Saya and Thamuz had fallen down the cliff, Hanabi had was really scared, but then her fear turned into anger, which she showered upon the remaining of the Fire Demon.

Her fury was really too much for the demons to handle, yet they were brave as well for no matter the odds, the Fire Demons didn't gave up. They still had faith in their leader, that he would come out any moment and save them all so they all tried to hold the human off.

However, suddenly a voice echoed throughout the area, "Enough!"

Everyone paused to look at who it was, to their shock, it was Saya. She had managed to again climb back on the cliff and was alive and kicking. However that was not what shocked them the most. It was what she held in her hand. Held firmly in her grip was a scythe. Not just any scythe but it was Thamuz's scythe. It was no black as obsidian as the fire inside it had been put out. This meant only one thing, Thamuz the Lava lord was no more.

Saya threw the scythe towards the Fire demons and yelled, "Your leader is dead. Now be gone before you share the same fate."

The very prospect of their leader being dead was very shocking and unbelievable to the demons. Yet the proof was before them, Thamuz was really defeated. Knowing that fighting is useless, the fire demons retreated hastily while Hilda's tribe cheered.

The Sai'ore sighed and ran her hand through her hair; it was a long day indeed. But they won at last, yet still she was in a very sad mood. Alice's decision had really affected her; never had Saya imagined that she would get so attached to the Demon Queen, so Alice hurt her to her core. She felt lost and alone now, her heart aching heavily for the white haired beauty she had started loving.

However, a very familiar voice called, "Saya-chan!!"

Saya didn't get much time to ready herself as she was immediately thrown on her back as Hanabi suddenly tackled the older woman to the ground with a huge hug, all the while crying hysterically, "Whaaa, I was so worried!!"

This put a smile on Saya's face. It was reminder for Saya, that no matter what, she still had someone who depended on her. Saya hugged Hanabi back as well, "I missed you to, Neha."

Then soon a familiar horse galloped towards the two downed figure. It was Nhari and she looked angry. Saya giggled and stood up, "I'm so sorry, I forgot about you. Please forgive me." She cooed while hugging the horse, it didn't took long for Nhari to melt and neigh happily at the attention she was getting.

"Nice work, Sister!" Hilda exclaimed with a wide grin as she came over to them and gave a group hug. It was then they all noticed that Saya was practically topless with only her chest bindings saving her decency; Hilda quickly took off her fur cloak and put it over Saya. The Sai'ore thanked her for this.

Soon the other people gathered around her as well and congratulated her. Then from the small crowd came out Darim, the same man who had scorned Saya. The Crowd went silent at this and looked at the two of them with tensed eyes. However than Darim feel to his knee and spoke, "All hail, Lady Saya, Slayer of the Lava Lord."

Every cheered again at this, "HAIL! HAIL!"

Bashfully Saya smiled, "You all honour me."

As in queue The Turtle let out a loud victory roar as well, causing them all to quiet down and look at the colossal beast nervously. However Hanabi reassured them all, "Don't worry guys, He is a friend."

The Turtle then boomed loudly, **"Now the demons have been taken care of, we are now even. Farewell human, I** **must now carry on with my journey."** With that, the Colossal Turtle stomped away as Hanabi waved him good bye while others just stood in awe.

Finally when the Behemoth was no longer in view, Saya shook her head in amusement, "Akam'bani. Fascinating............So what do we do now?" she asked.

Hilda shrugged, "Well, we just keep moving I guess. We still need to find a place to settle down."

Suddenly Hanabi butted in, "Oh, I know a place! You'll love it!" confusing everyone with her words.

\---X---

Hanabi lead them all deeper into the canyon. Normally she had a very bad sense of direction but it was now easier to find her way as all they had to do was follow the giant footsteps of the turtle. Hanabi led them all through the crystal cave from where she had chased the deer and to the valley where she had originally found the turtle.

The sight before them awed everyone as it had awed Hanabi when she saw it the first time.

"Is this what I think it is?" one of the tribesmen muttered.

With almost teary eyes Hilda nodded, "Aye, lads. Our new home."

\---X---

The valley provided them will everything they could've asked for, food, water, shelter and good game to hunt for, it was indeed a paradise. The once nomadic people of wilderness now had their own place to call home.

It took them a few weeks to get used to all the pleasant weather and not having to move around here and there but it was a change they got used to and appreciated very much.

Saya and Hanabi stayed with the tribe for a few weeks as well, helping them settle in properly or just helping them in general. All this time, Saya had restarted Hanabi's training as well and the Kunoichi was getting stronger and stronger every day.

But alas, everything came to an end. The Tribe had found their place but Saya and Hanabi had to move on now. They still had their journey to complete, even if they didn't want to.

"Are you sure you cannot stay for a few more days?" asked Hilda desperately, while Saya , who's left arm had grown back was loading various items and things onto Nhari's back. The Huntress had grown fond of Saya and Hanabi and watching them go was heart wrenching for her.

"I'm afraid we have to, Sister. You are home now but we still have much to do...." As Saya was packing her items, she saw a packet of something tucked amongst many of her herbs which she uses to make medicine. On closer inspection, it was the Infamous 'White Thunder' weed; probably Hilda had put it in there when she wasn't looking. Saya sighed at this, "Seriously? I'm surprised how this thing isn't illegal."

"It is actually.." mumbled Hilda

"What?"

"Nothing.....So, you will be going. Please do take care sister." Hilda wrapped Saya in a big hug. Saya smiled and patted the brutish woman's back, "I will. Take care of your people and your new home."

"I will. You kept your promise it seems. You found us a home, like you said. But what about you?" asked Hilda.

Saya frowned at this, "I don't know."

Suddenly Hanabi comes towards them and declares excitedly, "We should get going! I want to sleep on a proper bed tonight!" this caused the two to laugh. "Sure, Neha. I'll be right back." Saya spoke fondly with a smile she had reserved only for the young Human girl.

This caused Hilda to smile mischievously. Saya was confused when she noticed this and asked, "What?"

"Nothing. It's just that, I think you have already found your home." With that Hilda walked away, leaving Saya even more confused.

Then Hanabi came over to her, "Saya-chan, you alright?" the concerned frown on her face was very adorable. Saya smiled and patted her head affectionately, "I am fine, Hana. Let go." Hanabi smiled brightly, the very smile that the Sai'ore had come to love and adore so much. Perhaps now Saya knew what Hilda meant. With Hanabi, no matter where she went, she was already at home.......................... 

(Thus the end of the Megalith arch, stay tuned for more)


	34. Lake of ice

Days had passed since Hanabi and Saya had left Hilda's tribe and continued their path towards the mysterious Moniyan Kingdom of the Elves and the drastic change of their surroundings from barren rocks and sands to lush green forests was a very welcome change for both of them.

Following the map them had, they travelled down an old dirt path which lead them further north and although subtle, Saya could feel the temperature drop gradually. As they made further up north, the forest around changed from the usual deciduous forest to the unmistakably coniferous forest. A sight Saya was very familiar with.

She even stopped a moment to actually walk up to a tree and touch its rough bark to feel its texture. Hanabi paused at this and looked at Saya questioningly, "Have you never seen a pine tree before?"

The Sai'ore shook her head, "No, I have actually. It's just that, these trees remind me of my home world." She spoke with a sad nostalgic voice as she remembers what had happened to her world, her home and her people.

Seeing the forlorn look on her face, Hanabi walked up to Saya and held her hand, "You okay?"

Her simple gesture was enough to pull Saya out of her depression. Giving a soft smile Saya nodded, "I am now. Come now, we should move."

The further they walked, the colder it became. Soon they learned why, there before them in a distance was a huge snowy mountain. Its peak covered with snow that was gleaming beautifully under the sun. Hanabi frowned at this, "Are you sure this is the right way?"

Saya took out a map form her satchel and analyzed it. "This route indeed is not on the map. Our original plan was to go around the canyon that would've lead us straight towards the capital of Moniyan Empire. But we took the path through the canyon, and so we now have to take another path entirely."

"Is there no other way?"

"That would mean going back through the desert once again." Both of them shuddered at the thought of going back to the desert. But Saya then added, "I think we can take the pass through the mountain and approach the Elven kingdom form west. That should be the safest and fastest way."

Hanabi seemed a bit nervous at this, she gulped audibly but steeled herself anyways, "Alright, Let's get this over with."

As they neared the mountain the temperature dropped considerable as now most of the area around them was covered in a thick layer of snow.

Hanabi was really not well equipped for this weather as her short battle kimono did almost next to nothing to protect her from the cold weather. But Saya was very quick to put some furs over Hanabi as soon as she started shuddering. Hilda's tribe had been very generous to give them with gifts such as food supplies, fur tunics and blankets and other trinkets. Saya was thinking that selling them would fetch a nice sum of coins for them as both of them were very low on money but right now, they came very handy because as soon as Hanabi wore that fur tunic, the Human was in a much better condition. "Careful there, Neha. You might catch a cold."

The Kunoichi nodded and pulled the fur closer to herself, it was then Hanabi noticed another thing, Saya was still just a flax shirt that Hilda had gave her (her gambeson had been destroyed by Thamuz's fire.) and she panicked as well, "What about you? Aren't you feeling cold?"

Saya laughed at this, "My kind may not handle hot very well, but we thrive in the cold. More so than most other creatures." It was true because admits the snow covered cold landscape, Saya felt right at home, like as if she was back in the warmer parts of Siraya.

However Hanabi was not amused and forced Saya to wear a fur coat as well. She was not taking chances and Saya knew better than to argue with her human.

Traversing through the snow covered landscape was difficult, so it took them a good while to reach near the summit of the mountain. It was already dark by then but the two continued their way, willing to at least cross the mountain that day. That was suddenly when Saya's senses flared and she looked around frantically, "We need to find a shelter, a blizzard will hit us."

This really confused Hanabi because the weather seemed perfectly fine to her, "What are you talking about? The weather is fine."

As soon as she said this, snow started falling upon them and it was clear that it was slowly building up its momentum, proving Saya right once again. Shocked, Hanabi couldn't help but ask, "How?"

Saya shrugged, "Siraya is a harsh world. Blizzards can hit you at any moment, that's why we Sirayans have sort of like a sixth sense for these kinds of endeavours. Come on, I think I spotted a cave nearby. " Hanabi followed behind Saya without further question.

They took refuge in a cave big enough to fit both Saya and Hanabi, along with their horse so we now find them all huddled together in the cave while the Blizzard grew more intense on the outside. They had no means to start a fire inside the cave as they had no wood so they all had to just resort on using their fur blankets to keep themselves warm. Saya was not having much problem but Hanabi was certainly having much difficulties coping with the cold. And the lack of fire was not exactly helping at all.

Instinctively, seeking more warmth, Hanabi crawled closer to Saya and huddle close to her. This surprise Saya but she didn't protest. When she noticed that Hanabi was shuddering from cold, Saya wrapped her arm around the smaller woman. This seemed to do wonder as Hanabi eventually stopped shuddering from cold, she even scooted closer to Saya, making the older woman blush heavily at the extreme closes of their bodies. They were basically cuddling with their bodies pressed against each other and this really frustrated Saya.

But however, upon seeing Hanabi's face, all of Saya's frustration melted away. She had a very relieved and content expression, with no ulterior motives hidden behind it, just pure and innocent bliss that instantly melted Saya's heart. Smiling softly, Saya hugged her tighter, making sure that her human was comfortable and warm.

Hanabi sighed happily at this, "I could really get used to this." Saya chuckled at this while replying sincerely, "So could I."

The two sat in silence for a while, listening to the howling winds outside the cave as a lullaby. Suddenly Hanabi spoke, "Thank you."

This really confused Saya but Hanabi continued again, "Thank you for everything you did for me."

Saya smiled and shook her head at this, "You don't have to thank me, Neha...." She wanted to continue but Hanabi spoke once again, "No, really. I really mean it."

Taking a deep breath, Hanabi spoke, "Back when I was in Iga, I never had any friends. All I ever did was train. My master had very.......high standards. I would try and train so hard to reach up to the level he expected of me but I never could." Saya listened quietly as Hanabi looked away and continued, "It all started with a spar with a student of the rival clan. He was exceptionally good, even better than me, and all I could do was play catch up. I was so focused on bettering myself and pleasing my master that I didn't even know when I had started doubting my own self."

The young ninja girl closed her eyes, "That is my biggest weakness, I doubted myself. For so long I tried to hide away my fears, so for so long I tried to put a mask over it that eventually, I became a part of me. But you? You came along and changed that. You believed in me, even when I myself could not. You did so much for me that I can never ever repay you and for that I truly thank you."

Saya smiled at Hanabi, proud that she was finally able to accept and believe in herself. Leaning forward, Saya gently kissed Hanabi's head, "For you, meha Neha, anything."

Hanabi giggled at this and put her arms around Saya, "Don't be so dramatic."

"I would rather prefer the term poetic."

They both laughed and pressed their forehead against each other's. Slowly they drifted away into a blissful sleep with each other still in their arms.

\---X---

It took the entire night for the snow storm to finally die down and it was morning by now. However the blizzard had cleared the weather considerably and the day looks absolutely clear and beautiful.

After a light breakfast from their ration of food, the two made their way down the mountain and with the weather as beautiful as today, they were especially in very high spirits.

The air was cool and fresh, the weather was crisp and energetic, Saya couldn't ask for a better weather.

They travelled down the path, further up north the path ahead and was deviating more and more from the map. So Hanabi couldn't help by wander, "Are you really sure this is the way?"

"Honestly, I don't know. This path is not even of the map."

"Do you think it's wise to go this way then? What if we run into another goblin tribe?" frowned Hanabi and Saya laughed at this, "Fret not, meha Neha. I will protect you." She declared with her chest swelled proudly.

"And who is gonna protect you?"

"Well, you are, of course, my adorable student."Saya cooed while putting her arm around Hanabi. The Ninja girl could keep up her tough guy act for long before she melted away and gave into Saya's embrace. She hugged back the tall Sai'ore and mumbled, "Flattering will not always work."

"Well, it sure is worth trying." Replied Saya smoothly.

"Real smooth."

So most of the way was spent with the two of them making playful exchanges with each other, this seemed to do well for Saya as it really helped her cope with her internal struggle. Even if days had passed since that day, Alice's betrayal had left a lasting impression on her.

Every word she had told to Alice that day, Saya had meant it with the bottom of her heart. She was really willing to fight against the entire world for her, yet the Blood Demoness refused her. It was as if, all the moments that the two shared meant nothing to her and had never happened.

Alice had left her with a hole in her heart, however...somehow Hanabi was able to dull her pain considerably. Saya was still not able to completely let go of Alice right away, but, she was really glad that Hanabi was here with her. She was her only support through her fragile state, and Hanabi was providing her all the support she needed without even knowing about it and for that Saya was very grateful.

After hours of treading along the snow covered path, they finally reached a clearing and decided that they should rest for a bit.

Saya was busy loading the bags off of Nhari so that the horse could lie down and rest for a bit as well while Hanabi looked around the clearing. She saw a small stream of water and went towards it. Bending down, she touched the water. It was freezing and thought it best not to drink it unless she wanted to freeze from within. She did however; saw something before her that made her breath hitch for a while.

"Saya!" she yelled all of a sudden which almost gave Saya a heart attack. Discarding everything she had been doing, the Sai'oren woman bolted towards Hanabi with concern written all over her face.

"What happened, Hana? Are you all right? Are you hurt?" Saya was already on to Hanabi panicking like crazy but the human girl held her hand and pointed ahead, "Look!"

As told, Saya looked towards where Hanabi was pointing and stood speechless for a while. There before them was a massive lake. With a layer of crystal clear ice covering its surface, it was totally frozen and with the sun's light dancing off its glistening surface, it was as if looking a lake made of gold, truly a breathtaking sight. However what lay beyond the lake was something even more spectacular.

Resting at the edge of the lake was a city, a beautiful city made of white marble. The most noticeable feature of the city was the massive Swan shaped castle in the middle of the city which was so beautiful that it was as if straight out of a dream.

At such a marvellous sight, Saya could only mutter a single word, "Where are we?"................... 


	35. The City of Swans

We now find ourselves with the duo who had decided that the best course of action would be to go towards the city. They needed some supplied and were in a desperate need of some information.

Namely a simple question as to where on the Land of Dawn exactly were they?

The city looked beautiful from a far and even more so up close. The streets were all clean and tidy with pine trees lining each side. Houses were built in a well planned and organised fashion along with its denizens going about their business in a very disciplined way. It was almost as if this was not even a city of humans.

Hanabi spoke in disbelief, "I cannot believe if. We are in the Swan Kingdom."

Still not so well versed in the History of this world, Saya enquired further and the kunoichi explained, "There once was a Nobel family in Mossenia by the title of Regina. Tired of all the politics of the Human world, they departed from the empire and formed a new kingdom far away which was supposed to be perfect. The Kingdom was called The Kingdom of Swans. No one knew where this enchanting Kingdom was and to think we might have just discovered it? Truly marvellous!" The excitement was clear as crystal in her voice; her eyes twinkled brightly while she looked around the beautiful city with child like glee. Saya couldn't help but giggle softly, completely adoring Hanabi's childish nature.

With whatever money they had left, Saya used them to pay the local stable who promised to take very good care of Nhari during their stay in the city.

Now reduced to being completely broke, the Two had only had one choice left but to trade whatever they could spare for some coins.

However, this was easier said than done.

The distrustful glances of the denizens of the city were something Saya found very hard to not notice, even though Hanabi was completely oblivious to this.

It was clear that the people of Swan Lake did not liked outsiders so naturally they were weary of the two.

This became a problem because most of the general stores refused to bargain with the two of them. They did finally found a shop willing to do business with them but the slimy shopkeeper was obviously trying to cheat them.

The price he was willing to pay was low, too low to be fair at all. With extremely controlled voice, Saya spoke to the shopkeeper, "What you offer is not even remotely reasonable, Good Sir. We care travellers from far away and would appreciate a fair trade."

The Shopkeeper, a short man with a crooked nose, snorted and said distastefully, "Now listen here, Outlanders. You should be thankful that I am even considering to buy your goods while no one is willing to. That's how things work here. Either take it or leave it."

Saya had never imagined that the denizens of such a beautiful city could ever turn out to be as such. It was really setting a new kind of impression on Saya about the city. Knowing that talking with folks such as these was useless, Saya was about to take her leave.

But she forgot about Hanabi's volatile temper thus before she could even stop her, the young kunoichi had already exploded.

"Shame on you, taking advantage of our depravity, you are nothing but a crook!" Hanabi spat heatedly as her anger got the best of her yet again.

The shopkeeper didn't take this kindly either. Narrowing his eyes he hissed, "Get out of my shop before I call the guards."

Things were about to catch fire but all that was halted when the store's door was flung open all of a sudden and in came two figures. And upon their sight the shopkeeper paled.

"What is going on?" asked a feminine voice. Saya got a good look of the new person who spoke. The figure was a human female. Her attire was a pure white dress which looked extravagant and luxurious. The likes not many could've afforded meaning who ever the woman was, she was of no normal status and the fact that her presence made the shopkeeper nervous was a blaring evidence.

Gulping audibly, the shopkeeper stammered, "Nothing. My Lady, It's just that...."

Hanabi who was still very furious practically roared, "You tried to cheat us because we are Outsiders!!"

The accusation made the white clad woman shocked beyond words. She looked at the shopkeeper with disappointment, "I expected that you would be better than this."

The shopkeeper hung his head in shame, whilst apologising over and over again. "Please forgive me, Princess Odette. This won't happen again."

This sentence however caught attention of both Saya and Hanabi. Saya stood surprised that a Royal figure of the City would meet them so soon while Hanabi stood flabbergasted upon realizing who it was.

"It's you, Princess Odette Regina of the Swan Kingdom, I have heard so much about you!" Hanabi exclaimed.

Odette smiled at this, "And so have I about you, Miss Hanabi the Scarlet Flower." She then turns towards Saya. "And you as well, Miss Saya, Saviour of Mossenia, Slayer of the Lava Lord. It an honour to meet you." Now it Odette's words that caused others to be shocked, looks like Saya's fame was really starting to spread far and wide.

Saya scratched her head bashfully, "The honour is mine, Princess."

The Swan princess smiled and asked, "So, What brings people of your status to my small kingdom?"

Respectfully Saya answered, "We arrived merely by accident, Princess. We got lost and happened to discover your city by chance. We mean no harm and shall leave at dawn."

"No-No, you misunderstand. I was just curious how you got here, it very rare we get visitors so we are happy to welcome you in my city." Corrected Odette, It was then Odette noticed the wears Saya was trying to sell. Curiously she came closer and asked, "May, I see it?"

A bit surprised by the Princess's sudden request, Saya could only nod as answer while Odette inspected the pelts and fur clothes thoroughly, "Amazing, the fur is so soft and the stitching is incredible! Not even the finest tailors of my kingdom can do this! Did you make this yourself?"

To this the Sai'ore answered sincerely, "No, a good friend of mine did. The People of Wilderness are very skilled in this art."

Marvelling at the fur blanket that she was holding, Odette gasped, "This is beautiful, isn't it Lancelot?" the princess turned towards her companion, a tall man will gorgeous golden blond locks, a specimen that would be considered downright gorgeous by human-standards.

Flashing a charming smile, Lancelot replied smoothly, "But not as beautiful as you, my sweet Odette."

His words, causing the young princess to blush up storm and hide behind the blanket in shyness, "Oh Lancelot, you flatter me too much."

The Blonde immediately came over her and held her hands, "It's not flattery, just a simple truth." He then kissed her hands softly, making Odette giggle sweetly, "Oh Lancelot!"

Hanabi averted her eyes in embarrassment while Saya simply smiled to herself while muttering, "Young love."

Her comment must've made the two realize that they were still in public so Odette and Lancelot parted away from each other, although the reluctance was evident in their eyes.

Saya recognises that longingness, the feeling of extreme emotional attachment and affection. It was clear as day that the two were in love and were quite bold about it as well.

Pulling herself together, Odette again spoke, "These wear you offer are priceless, I would be more than happy to relief them from you for a fair price." With that the princess pulled out a sum of coins that were far beyond what the wears could've been worth, quite a display of generosity and wealth. Saya half-minded protesting, however with the situation they were in currently, the sum of coin they were offered would be very helpful so the Ex-empress agreed, abet hesitatingly. 

For so long she was an Empress, wealth had never been a problem for her. Although Odette had done it out of generosity, it was a bit of a blow to Saya's pride for she was in a way, taking alms as if she was a broken beggar, which was unfortunately true in this case.

With skills honed across centuries, Saya masked her distress while receiving the pay while Odette asked one of the guards to help her carry all the furs she had just purchased back to the castle. "I hope we meet again, Miss. Saya." With that they parted ways.

Hanabi now stood beside Saya, "So, What do we do now?"

Saya giggled and held the fat sack of coins she had just acquired, "Well, we do have a fair amount of money now, we should make good use of it don't you think?" suggested the older woman cheerfully and Hanabi couldn't help but feel excited.

They now had enough money to actually afford plenty of things; first they rented a room in the local inn. As if blessed that day, the inn also had a system for hot bath, a thing the two desperately needed, but since they had no spare clothes, the two had to go out to the town and get some new clothes.

The first thing Saya noticed was the drastic change in the reactions of the citizens of the city. The news of their encounter with the Princess must've spread out like wild fire and now they were murmuring curiously amongst themselves about 'The Great Saviour of Mossenia' and 'The Scarlet Flower'. Saya was a bit surprised just how impactful their reputation was apparently as it drastically changed the views of the citizens about them over a very short course of time. Not that she complained though, curious whispers were more manageable than hateful glares.

This sudden change in the demeanour of the citizens were helpful, as now they were more approachable and were now more than willing to aid them. So finding a decent clothes shop was not so hard.

Being particularly well versed in the different styles of clothing's belonging to the different cultures dotting the Land of Dawn, the owner of the shop they had entered was very enthusiastic about showing them all sorts of garments.

"Here, I have the finest sets of eastern robes I had recently imported all the way straight from The Forbidden City till the Kingdom of Mahar Pura." The shopkeeper spoke proudly while showing them many assortments of kimonos and saris, all very lavish and beautiful. But knowing that their price must be as lavish as they looked, Saya had to ask for some simpler version of the clothes, much Hanabi's distress.

Truthfully, Saya would've wanted nothing more than to actually buy her whatever she wanted but Alas, Saya couldn't and it made her feel very sad that she couldn't fulfil her human's wishes.

Now, with a few set of normal but fresh clothes, Saya and Hanabi now made their way back towards their inn. Although Hanabi tried to mask her emotions, Saya could see right through it that she was still feeling a bit down. So, Saya reached into her coin bag and took out a handful of coins.

"I will head back to the inn and make arrangements for our stay. In the mean time, why don't you go out and explore the city for a bit?" the Sai'ore suggested handing her the coins.

Hanabi immediately understood what Saya was trying to do and tried to decline, but on Saya's insistence, Hanabi finally agreed.

"Do be careful and don't get into trouble alright." Saya warned playfully. Hanabi glared back half-heartedly and scoffed, "Oh, please. When have I ever caused trouble?" totally contradicting what she had been doing for the past few months.

Saya laughed softly at this, causing Hanabi to give in and laugh as well. She came over and hugged Saya, causing the older woman to pause while blushing slightly.

"Thank you." Hanabi mutters. Saya smiled at this and placed a small but very meaningful kiss on Hanabi's head, "Go and enjoy the city, Neha. I'll be waiting for you."

Hanabi looked up and gave a bright smile at this. The same smile that Saya was getting addicted too. "Okay, I'll be right back. Wait for me." With excitement matched by that of a child, Hanabi went towards the city to carry on her exploration, leaving Saya to her own thoughts.

Seeing Hanabi like this, her almost child-like demeanour and disarming smile. It made Saya feel warm inside her heart, a warmth she now had the chance of getting used to after so many years. Indeed, she would wait for Hanabi because to Saya, Hanabi was worth waiting for. She would wait for her; she would wait for yet another thousand years for her. So lowly, the Empress of the Sai'ore kind utters, "Of course, Meha Jai."

\---X---

At the outskirts of the city, we see a lone figure walking through the snowy path. It was an orange haired girl with purple attire that was completely not ideal for such a cold environment. The girl was cold and she was shuddering due to the harsh winds that blew, yet the girl's eyes had nothing but pure determination.

"Finally, I have found you, Brother.".................


	36. Ms. Violet and Ms. Scarlet

The idea of exploring the city with a small sum of money handed to her by Saya somewhat made her feel like a little girl who was out in the market as soon as her mommy gave her the monthly pocket-money. It was ridiculous but Hanabi couldn't deny that she was enjoying her little adventure.

The City was not so big but big enough to wander about and see new things. Hanabi didn't had the time in her travels to actually slow down a while and look around the different cultures and architects of the world beyond her village walls so taking time to appreciate all the different wonders the worlds had to offer was a very welcome change in pace.

Hanabi thinks about all the things she had done since she had left Iga, how long she had come since her defeat by Hanzo and getting under Saya's wings. Frankly, quite a lot and she couldn't help but feel proud of all the progress she had made. Yet she was still left to wonder, _'Will it be enough?'_

Till now, Saya's training had taught her very good form of hand-to-hand combat techniques. Now Hanabi could take a good amount of hits and didn't tire as easily as she would've before, but she had still to learn any form of weapon oriented techniques that would've been far more effective than any un-armed techniques. But Saya had promised her that she will teach her when she was ready and told Hanabi to practice what she had been teaching her, especially the Sai'oren verse that Saya insisted that Hanabi must understand.

"Adrin Krad'a nidran kara........ Su'ee, Dhara'he mitran Jana." Hanabi mutters the phrase that Saya had written.

The Kunoichi continued walking through the magnificent stone path till she reached a huge plaza. The area was surrounded by many stalls, ironic as the city was not exactly swarming with visitors. But still stalls were being made while many sorts of decors were being placed as well. It was clear that some sort of grand event was about to be held and all these was on behalf of its preparation.

Hanabi watched in awe as the people worked tirelessly to make everything neat and spotless. Her personal favourite was the fountain in the middle of the plaza. Due to the extreme temperature, the fountain was frozen, but the ice was carved skilfully and made into a sculpture with looked like an exact copy of the Swan princess they met a few hours ago. The Kunoichi watched in fascination as who could've made such a beautiful sculpture as it looked almost the same. As if it was made by someone who absolutely loved and adored Odette. (Any guesses who?)

So engrossed she was in admiring the sculpture that she didn't even realize that someone had been screaming at her until it was too late, "GET OUT OF THE WAY!!"

Before she knew what was happening, someone ran into her and both of them were sent tumbling down on the ground. Hanabi watched in horror as her small amount of coins got tossed out of her grip and it rolled away. The Kunoichi dived towards it to try and grab her money but alas she was not fast enough as the coins fell down a sewer.

"My money." She whined in despair and sulked down where she sat.

However, a new voice suddenly boomed. "Watch where you are going!"

Hanabi was shocked to see that the girl, who she had run into, was now standing before her and looked very angry, "Because of you, my clothes almost got dirty." The violet clad girl yelled while dusting her frock. At first Hanabi was really shocked, and then her shock turned into anger. Immediately she stood up on her feet and roared back, "Me? You were the one who ran into me! And because of you, I lost my money down the sewer hole!"

The girl snorted in annoyance and mutters; "I don't have time for this." she immediately reached into her pocket and pulled out a small sack of coins. Casually she tossed the coin sack to Hanabi and said, "Keep the change, that ought to shut you up." Arrogance in her voice was almost sickening as the girl strode away with her head held high. However she didn't made far as Hanabi threw the coin sack back to the violet clad girl, "I didn't ask for money, I want an apology." The kunoichi growled.

As if offended by her words, the girl gasped in disbelief, "How dare you! Do you know who I am?" 

"A sucked up, arrogant, cry baby." Smirked Hanabi while crossing her arms.

The girl didn't take this kindly. Narrowing her eyes and mumbled lowly, "Fine, if you with to play that way. I, Guinevere Baroque will teach you a lesson of respecting your betters." With that Guinevere conjured up violet balls of magic upon her hands.

Hanabi narrowed her eyes and took out her Higanbana (Which she still had been carrying this whole time) and challenged back, "Sore o motarasu!"

\---X---

Saya was currently her room that she had rented in the inn they had been staying and managing a few things till Hanabi arrived back from her exploration. The poor girl would be tired so Saya had made sure that everything would be fine, from bed, bath till dinner. Saya may not be able to provide all that Hanabi wanted but she could make sure that Hanabi got the best of what they could afford for the time being.

The Ancient Sai'oren was thinking ways to perhaps earn some extra cash from selling some medicines that she could brew from the various plants she had seen around the area, or perhaps some other works that could earn her quick cash.

She was counting her many options while making her way down stair towards the tavern area of the inn. It was then she noticed something that was not present when she was here previously.

There sitting on of the booth area were a bunch of people. Now this itself would not be a problem but the fact that these men were dressed on an overly dark set of robes which screamed ill intent from every direction. Acting casually, Saya sat at the bar area and ordered a cup of tea (A warm beverage that she had developed a liking for the moment she tasted it).

The robed figures, Mages by the looks of it, were talking to each other in hushed tone. Normally this would be in-audible to normal human ears, but Saya's sharp ears were able to pick up their words effortlessly.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" one of them asked.  
"Yes, the tracks lead us here; no way she could've gone anywhere else." Another one answered.

"Fine, we will teach that Baroque what it means to go against the Paxley family." One particular hot headed amongst their group growled angrily.

"Easy there, Lad. Lord Paxley wants this girl unharmed." The first mage reasoned, causing the angry one to grumble in annoyance.

Suddenly another dark robed mage entered the inn with a very decent amount of urgency, "I found the girl!"

"Where?"

"She is having a fight with this eastern warrior in the plaza."

Saya had a very good idea who that Eastern warrior was.

\---X---

Hanabi and Gwen (Short form for Guinevere that I will be using) looked at each other as the atmosphere around them became very tense, both looking each other in the eyes, as if daring the other to make their first move.

Being the impatient one, Hanabi was the first to leap into action and hurled her kunai at the violet clad girl. Gwen was startled at first but was able to avoid the attack in meek time. However, this single moment of distraction was what Hanabi exploited to land her first hit on the Baroque heiress.

Holding her stomach where she was just punched, Gwen glared at the kunoichi, "Using weapons? That's not fair."

"Everything is fair in love in war." Smirked Hanabi and dashed towards her once again.

Gwen glared at the masked girl and hissed, "Fine, we can play that game."

The Kunoichi came closer and Gwen raised her hand to intercept her with her own attack, but just before reaching Gwen, Hanabi changed direction and dashed towards her side. With impressive speed, she pulled out another kunai and threw it at the Baroque.

Gwen saw this and had immediately got out of the way. Hanabi again rushed in for another strike and punched her again. However, to Hanabi's surprise, Gwen's form suddenly dissolved into tiny purple wisps and faded away, leaving only a vacant area where Gwen stood moments ago, "Nani?"

"Pew-Boom!" was all Hanabi heard when a purple orb of magic collided with her and sent her flying away. Hanabi groaned in pain as she nursed her left arm that took the bulk of the attack while a figure stood before her. The kunoichi looked up and met with the grinning figure of Guinevere who was sporting a ball of purple magic on her hands. Hanabi glared and hissed, "Magic? That's not fair."

"Everything is fair in love and war." The Baroque replied sweetly, making Hanabi get a taste of her own medicine.

"Well played, Baroque well played."

\---X---

Saya had been following the group of mages ever since they left the inn and were storming their way towards the plaza. Soon they reached their destination and the situation was really heated.

In the middle of a huge crowd that had gathered, the first thing Saya noticed was that Hanabi was apparently fighting against a girl in violet frock who was also shooting purple balls of magic from her hands.

"That's her!"

"What about the other girl?"

"Be done with her, we only need the Baroque alive." the dark robed mages were about to shoot their own beams of magic at the duelling duo but before this could've happened, a hand took a hold of one of the mage and threw him backwards, making him crash through some carts.

The Mages were shocked at first. Then they angrily looked at the one who had dared to defy them. However all they saw was a 6.7 ft tall 'elven' woman, whose face was twisted into an angry snare.

"Big mistake threatening what is mine, Humans."

\---X---

Back in the fight with Hanabi and Gwen, the two were in a surprisingly fair fight, even if the two didn't admit it. Guinevere had advantage with her magic but physically, Hanabi was far superior to the young Baroque heiress. Thus the fight had now become a big game of dance.

Each of them trying to gain an upper hand upon the other while trying to not let the other take advantage of their weakness.

Guinevere all but had to get a good hit on Hanabi while Hanabi all but had to get a hold of her and use one of those devastating chock holds she had been taught by Saya. A single chance to land a blow and both could be done for.

"No bad, Baroque, your magic is cool." Complimented Hanabi with a smirk while throwing a punch at the violet clad girl.

Blocking the attack, Gwen grinned herself as well, "Not too shabby yourself, Ninja-Girl. It's been a long time since I had to use so much of my power."

Surprisingly, during their fight, the two had actually developed quite a bit of respect for each other, but sadly, a duel can have only one victor and they both knew this. The two jumped back and created some distance between themselves and looked at each other with the same intent, "Lets finish this!" both of them yelled and charged at each other.

\---X---

Saya stood over the bodies of defeated mages while she still held the piece of wood that she had used as an alternative to her long destroyed sword. The mages lay prone and filled with bruises as the tall woman had gave them a beating of their life that they probably would never forget.

Letting out a breath, Saya dropped the wooden piece and dusted her hands. One of the mage tried to crawl away but Saya stalked towards him and pulled him up by his collar. Looking at him, she questioned, "Who sent you?"

The man groaned as an envelope dropped from his robe and fell on the ground. Saya let him go and picked up the envelop. Upon observing, she could only make out a single word, "The Paxley huh?"

The Mage coughed and looked up at the Sai'ore with hate, "We will not forget this. You have no idea who you are meddling with, Elf." He threatened.

However, instead of fear as he had expected, Saya only showed calmness.

No, this was no ordinary calmness; it was the silence before the storm. The man felt nervous when Saya's eye practically glowed in anger. She looked him in the eye and spoke lowly, "Neither do you." With that the Sai'ore left the man to his fate as guards came over and took the entire mages prisoner.

With that taken care of, Saya went towards her primary concern.

"I cannot leave you for a moment, can I, Neha?"

Saya pushed her way through the crowd till she reached the edge of the crowd that had been spectating the fight all along. Hanabi and Guinevere were still duelling with each other and both were not willing to give up just yet.

But she did notice one thing, both Hanabi and Gwen, they had this determined look in their eyes, yet there was no murderous intent in their eyes. They were rather enjoying this and were willing to carry till the end. Saya understood the meaning of this and decided not to interfere.

As for Hanabi and Gwen, they charged at each other, willing to finish this once and for all.

Gwen hurled energy wave attacks at Hanabi but the kunoichi had expected this so she immediately avoided those magic orbs. However what Hanabi didn't expect was that Guinevere would suddenly jump high up in the air, briefly exposing her under garment to onlookers below her which was unfortunately Hanabi, who blushed in embarrassment. But this moment of distraction proved expensive for Hanabi and she paid dearly for it. Gwen came crushing down upon Hanabi and the impact force was enough to actually knock Hanabi right off her feet, exactly what Guinevere had intended.

Calling the powers of the violet flower on her wrist, the Baroque heiress yelled, "Dance for me!" the effect was instantaneous.

With the power of the Violet Requiem, Guinevere summoned several magic orbs around her and they swirled around her like a magic whirlpool. The attack damaged Hanabi considerably before she was thrown back on the ground brutally, while Gwen landed on the ground on her feet gracefully.

Hanabi lay prone on the ground while, Gwen, although she was heavily winded and had several cuts and bruises on herself, was still standing, "I guess I win." She smirks.

Saya looked at Hanabi's beaten from with barely controlled anger, she really wanted to go ahead and interfere but she understands that Hanabi must do this herself or else it would be for nothing.

The Kunoichi looked at Gwen and glared angrily, causing the violet mage to be surprised, "It's over now, don't over exert yourself, or you'll get hurt." The girl says with surprising concern but her voice of reason was being muffled by Hanabi's rage.

She was feeling so angry right now, even when her body was beaten. She was always being defeated and it was really getting to Hanabi's head. Gwen protested, even her own body protested but Hanabi' just wouldn't listen and tried to get back up.

Saya watch with a bit of disappointment, Hanabi still had not let go of her anger. Like this, it was being more and more clear that she was not, and will not be ready. However, than a miracle happened.

Suddenly, the phrase echoed inside Hanabi's mind.

"Adrin Krad'a nidran kara........ Su'ee, Dhara'he mitran Jana."

"Too much anger is destructive.. Clam and patients is your friend."

These words made Hanabi's eyes widen in realization. Now she understands.

Saya's looked as Hanabi slowly stood up on her feet, yet there was something different about her this time. The Sai'ore looked into Hanabi's eyes and what she saw stunned her. Her eyes, it no longer held that unbridled anger but a calm and serene expression.

_'It cannot be...'_

With a calm and steady pace, Hanabi let out a deep breath and got back into her fighting stance. Gwen frowned at this; Hanabi was clearly over exerting herself but will not stop. So it was now up to Gwen to prevent Hanabi from hurting herself because over the course of their fight, the two had mutual respect for each other and Gwen would hate to see Hanabi crippled. She readied one last attack to knock Hanabi out for her own good.

This time Gwen was the first to initiate the attack as she wanted to end this quickly as possible. However, Hanabi still stood stationary on her place. Gwen closed in fast and executed an attack. However, to everyone's shock, Hanabi dodged that attack even when she was so tired and beaten. Quickly, Hanabi went for a counter attack but Gwen immediately got away using her Spatial Migration technique and left an after image of herself, but Hanabi was ready for this.

She unsealed her chakram and threw the weapon towards the direction of real Gwen, who was shocked to her core. The Higanbana did its job as vine tendrils sprout out of the ground and wrapped around Gwen, keeping her in place.

Knowing that she will not be able to escape now, with a speed almost impossible for someone in her condition, Hanabi rushed towards Guinevere.

The Baroque looked in horror as Hanabi rushed towards her and suddenly held her by the waist. With a firm grip, Hanabi heaved and lifted Guinevere completely off the ground.

Hanabi let out a loud yell and threw the slightly shorter girl backwards in an arch, performing a perfect suplex that made Saya proud.

The two lay on the ground, breathing heavily, the attack took all that was left inside Hanabi, but now, not even Gwen was able to move at all. She had done it. At last she had done it!

Grinning, Hanabi spoke weakly, "Ready to call this a draw?"

Gwen grinned back weakly and replied, "Sure." With that she fainted.

Now Hanabi's vision was darkening as well. Her fatigue slowly eating away her consciousness as the last thing she saw was a silhouette of someone who kneeled down beside her and cradled her. The last thing she heard were these distinct words,

"You are now ready."..................... 


	37. The Marriage Problem

When she re-opened her eyes and came back to the world of the living, the first thing she realized was just how her body felt soar. Hanabi would not admit it but Guinevere had really done a number on her, so that was probably one of the reasons why her body hurt all over. Groaning in pain, Hanabi shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed she had been resting and let out a sigh. She looked around and found out that she was in the room that she and Saya had rented in the inn so she had a very good idea who brought her here.

“You awake?” a raspy voice called from the bed besides her own. Upon turning slightly, Hanabi discovered that Gwen had been lying prone on the bed; her body damaged and bandaged much like her own.

“I am now.” Mumbled Hanabi.

“Any idea where we are, because the last thing I remember is you throwing me over your head.”

“Touché.”

The single door in the room was suddenly pushed open and in came a familiar green haired Elf-like woman.

“I’m glad both of you are awake.” She speaks warmly.

Upon seeing the new occupant of the room, the first thing that stood out for Gwen was just how tall Saya was, towering over 6.7 feet, it was enough to intimidate Guinevere.

But Saya gave her a kind and gentle smile which did made Gwen a bit more relaxed as Saya strode inside the room and closed the door behind her.

It was then Hanabi noticed the two steaming hot mugs of beverage that the tall beauty held in her hands and immediately sat up.

Giggling at the kunoichi’s eagerness, Saya chided, “Careful now, Neha. You’re still hurt.” With that she handed a mug to her human. Then she turned towards Gwen, who was still quite unsure about Saya.

Adorning a motherly smile, Saya offered the mug to the violet clad mage, “Here, a hot drink might do you good.”

Hesitantly, Gwen took the mug from Saya and looked at the content of the mug. It was a dark brown liquid with a fairly thick texture, looked warm and inviting, plus the distinct smell of coco was unmistakable.

Guinevere took a sip and was very delighted to know that it was none other than hot chocolate, her favourite. The young Baroque downed the content in one might swing and let out a very satisfied breath.

“So” Saya pulled out a stool from under a bed and sat on it. Facing Hanabi and Guinevere, the Sai’ore crossed her arms and asked sternly, “Care to explain what all that commotion was about?”

They two looked at each other nervously before Hanabi suddenly spoke out, “She started it.”

Astonished beyond belief, Gwen roared back heatedly, “I did not, you were the one who got in my way!”

“You made me lose my money!”

“I tried to pay back!”

“I didn’t want the money, I wanted an apology!”

“For what, you being too blind to be aware of your surroundings?”

“You want another round, sister?”

“Bring it on!”

The two would’ve bickered even more had not Saya suddenly slammed her hand on the table and bark, “ENOUGH!”

Her sudden outburst caused the two to be silent instantaneously. It was very rare to see Saya angry like this, especially other than her enemies so they really didn’t wanted to make the tall Sai’ore angry than she already is. Saya then took a deep breath and spoke calmly, “I understand that the two of you are in a disagreement but you two are now grown individuals, so please do be a bit more mature.” It was almost like her outburst moments before had never happened, something that really bugged Gwen.

Saya then came towards them and checked both of their wounds and applied fresh bandages on both of them, all the while still lecturing them, “You both are lucky that you only got minor injuries and nothing permanent.” This was really starting to feel like an over protective mother scolding her two naughty daughters after they had caused some serious troubles, so all they could say was a low, “Sorry.”

However all this came to a halt when the door of their room was suddenly knocked vigorously, “This is the Swan kingdom guard. Open the door, in the name of the Princess!”

Both Hanabi and Guinevere tensed at the sound of that, having a very good idea why would a guard come knocking at their door step. But Saya gave them a reassuring look and went over to the door. The Sai’ore calmly opened the door and addressed the guard who was clearly in a sour mood, “Evening, sir. How may I help you?”

“Cut the pleasantries, Elf. We know that you’re hiding them here.” The guard barked rudely. Still Saya stood calm and composed, “You will have to be more specific, Sir.”

“The two girls who were fighting in the market, I’m here to bring them in.” he declares loudly, causing Gwen and Hanabi to start sweating preposterously. Saya frowned at this and asked, “On what charges?”

It was then the guard decided that he was done talking, “I don’t have to answer to you.” He tried to push past her but Saya got in his way almost instantly. It was then the guardsman noticed just how tall Saya was. He was considered average amongst his peers, standing as tall as 5.7 ft, neither too tall, nor too short. So when standing before the woman who towered over him and was literally looking down towards him, the guard was more than a little intimidated.

Putting up a brave face, the guard spoke once again, “Getting in the way of a lawman in duty is a punishable offence, so I will ask one last time, stand aside.”

Not fazed even a bit, Saya crossed her arms and spoke once more, “Not unless you present a valid argument. On what charges are they being arrested?”

“Well, for vandalism of course!” the guard exclaimed.

“So you are here all the way to catch vandalism suspects, who in truth have not done a single property damage, so your argument is not solid sir.” Countered Saya with a calm voice as the guard stood still. Truth to be told, there was really no evidence that the two had caused property damage or anything so the ‘Elven’ woman was right.

Finding himself in a pickle, the guard looked around for more argument, “Um, they are also suspected to be part of the rogue mages that we had captured this day in the alley near the market.”

Yet the un-amused look that the tall woman gave him was all he needed to understand that he had lost this debate.

Saya sighed at this as it was clear that this man was here without any proper preparation or information, “You’re not getting paid enough for this are you.”

The man finally sulked and mumbled pitifully, “Damn it, I’ll never get a promotion like this.”

Than another voice suddenly spoke from behind the guard, “Is everything alright here?”

Both Saya and the guard were shocked to see that it was none other than Princess Odette herself with her lover Lancelot tailing behind her. The guard stammered nervously, “Nothing is wrong, you’re Highness. I’ll take my leave.” With that the guard bolted downstairs, accidentally tripping and tumbled all the way down as his pained groans were heard throughout the place.

Ignoring that for a while, Saya addressed the Princess respectfully, “Good evening, Princess. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Odette waved off Saya’s formality with a bright smile and spoke merrily, “Nothing, I was just out for a stroll when I heard about this incident in the market. You see, it’s a small city and word travels quite fast.”

The Sai’ore frowned at this, “Are they in trouble of any kind?”

“Well, they had not done any sort of property damage but as a dutiful ruler of this city, it’s my responsibility to be a bit cautious. I hope you understand.”

Saya nodded and stood aside to let them in their room.

Hanabi and Odette looked nervously at each other and back towards the Swan Princess who still sported that sweet smile on her face.

“You two are really troublesome aren’t you?”

Thinking that they might be in serious trouble, Guinevere squeaked out in panic, “I can explain!”

This was when Odette’s companion talked for the first time, “That voice….. Gwen?” Lancelot spoke with a surprised voice and rushed inside the room.

Now it was Guinevere’s turn to be flabbergasted upon seeing the man who reeked too much of perfume, “Brother?” shocking everyone else in the room.

“This just got more interesting.” Smirked Hanabi lowly.

The room went quite for a while, with people just looking at each other with shocked expression. Finally having pulled himself together, Lancelot asked, “Why..”

However before he could ask further, Odette suddenly wrapped Gwen in a bone crushing hug, “I can’t believe it! I have a sister-in-law. And she is so cute!”

Hearing Odette’s words, Gwen paled and turned towards Lancelot, “You’re married?”

Lancelot blushed furiously and corrected hurriedly, “Well not exactly married. We are lovers but will get to that later…”

“I thought you were gay!”

“So that’s why I find him checking out some of the new recruits.” Concluded Odette while rubbing her chin as she finally understood it.

Lancelot finally butted in, “My sexual orientation aside, Why are you here, Gwen?”

“I came looking for you.”

Her answer did make everyone pause for a while. Finally Lancelot asked, “Why?”

Saya suddenly came forth and spoke, “Does this has something to do with this?” with that, she placed the envelope that she had retrieved from the Paxley mages she had beaten up.

Lancelot’s and Guinevere’s eyes widened at the sight of the envelope, instantly recognising the emblem on it, “It’s the dire mages of the Paxley family, but why were they here?”

“They were after Miss. Guinevere. I had to take them down as you two were busy in your duel.” Explained Saya.

“Wait, you defeated an entire group of Paxley Dire mages all by yourself? IMPOSSIBLE!!” shouted Guinevere in disbelief while Lancelot sincerely thanked Saya for saving his sister. He knows just how capable the dire mages were, but knowing who Saya was, he was not too surprised that she could handle them.

Lancelot then read the instructions the letter had and found out that it was Lord Paxley himself who had given out the order to capture Gwen alive. Sighing in expiration, he asked his younger sister, “What did you do to piss off the Paxley so much?”

Guinevere shifted uncomfortably on the bed and spoke, “It’s a long story. You might want to sit down for this.”

The rest did as advised and the youngest of the Baroque siblings told her story, “My family, the Baroque is famous for their mastery over fencing. But I never had any interest in sword fights, my passion was magic. I attended the Academy of Magic and no doubt I was the top of the Academy.” She said proudly. Then her mood turned sour, “But then, my talent caught the wrong attention. The Paxley are a Nobel family and are renowned for their magic. Lord Paxley wanted to strength the bonds between his and our family….”

“Through political marriage I presume.” Concluded Saya, such incidents was something she was used to by now, having herself arranged and undergone such marriage during her long career as the Empress of her kind. Gwen sulked at this knowing how right the Elf-like woman was.

“That’s why I ran away, and sough for you Brother. Only you can save me form this.” the violet clad girl pleaded to her brother. Lancelot glanced around nervously, “Me, how can I help you?”

“Well, I was hoping that you would get married in my stead…”

Everyone was astonished by this, “WHAT?”

“But seeing that you’re already engaged, it’s gonna be a problem.” Guinevere added causally while still pondering her options.

Lancelot breathed out a sigh of relief and suggested, “I don’t think it’s such a bad idea. I heard the eldest son of the Paxley is a very charming and kind hearted fellow.” Only to get hit in the face by a chair which Gwen had thrown, much to the shock and amusement of the others.

“I’m not joking brother. I cannot marry him………..I have someone else.” Mumbled the violet clad girl with a soft blush upon her rosy cheeks.

Lancelot stood speechless; never would he have imagined that his hot headed sister would finally fall in love. It was miraculous!

Odette was giggling happily at this, “Ah, Love! Such a beautiful word! Worry not; I will help you, my dear sister-in-law!”

Still quite not used to the Princess calling her sister-in-law, Gwen asked hesitantly, “Um, thank you, Princess, but how will you help me?”

“Just call me Odette or Big-sis. We are family now, and as for how I can help, I have a plan!”

There was this certain glint in her eyes that made Guinevere even more uncomfortable. Saya frowned and asked, “Are you going to host ‘that’?” nobody understood what the two meant but Odette was now grinning widely.

Hanabi asked tentatively, “Um, Saya-chan. What does she mean?”

Saya rubbed her temple and answered, “The princess means to host a tournament for the hand of Guinevere in marriage.” The rest of them paled at this. Expect Odette who was practically skipping in joy, “Yes! The Swan festival is coming, so this would be a perfect excuse as well. Imagine all the handsome studs, battling for the hand of their beloved, so romantic.”

They wisely shifted away from her, while Gwen didn’t looked happy, “I’m not an object to be fought over!”

Her brother came over to her and explained, “I know you’re not, but think this through. This is upon your best interest.”

Gwen glared at him, “How so, Brother?” she hissed dangerously, making it clear if she didn’t liked the answer, he was in for a world of pain.

Luckily, Saya was there for the rescue, “What he means is that, the games in the tournament would be of your choosing. That means you can choose literally anything for the tournament.”

This did make Gwen pause for a while, “And thus I can choose something that no one could possibly win.”

Hanabi frowned at this though, “Don’t you think we might just anger more than just the Paxley with a rigged tournament?”

Realizing this, Gwen sulked once again. Thinking that she was doomed to marry someone she didn’t love.

Then the eldest in the room suddenly suggested, “Maybe it doesn’t have to be an impossible task.” Everyone looked at Saya who had advised this with questioning look. The Sai’ore answered further, “How about this? One of our own will participate in the tournament as well. He will defeat all the other contestants and fail in the last task willingly so that there will be no winner in the tournament.”

Liking what she heard, Odette added as well, “And because no one could win the tournament, no one will be worthy to marry Gwen. This will prevent anyone from re-attempting engagements with her as the law must be honoured by everyone in the Land.”

The plan was surprisingly good and even if it was too over the top. But still, this was too good to be true. It was something too outlandish to be achieved.

Gwen’s head hung in despair, “I’m not sure. What if it doesn’t work? What if..”

But before she could speak further Lancelot stopped her, “It’s okay. I know you’re not sure, neither I am but know this, you are my sister and I will not let your life go to waste.” He speaks with a determined voice.

Odette joined in as well, “Yes. You are family now; we look out for each other.” Their worlds made Gwen’s heart swell with warmth like never before. She now had something she didn’t have for a long time. Hope. Hope that she might just be free, truly free.

She hugged her brother and sister-in-law tightly and muttered, ‘Thank you.” Over and over, while both Lancelot and Odette smiled warmly at her.

Saya smiled at this as well, pondering on the word they said; Family.

A word so familiar, yet so alien to her.

Finally the three parted from their group hug. Gwen wiped away her tears and pulled herself together. Finally she gave out a smile that brightened the mood considerably in the room.

“So when do we get started?”……………


	38. The Third Lesson

With a plan ready, all they needed to do now was prepare for it. The Royal family decided to get out of Saya's hair after the small discussion in the inn and went back to their castle, taking Guinevere along as well. She wagered that they probably would be very busy in the upcoming days so all Saya could provide was her well wishes.

Now left alone with Hanabi in the room, the kunoichi finally let out a breath of relief, "Wow that was dramatic."

"Indeed, Neha. But such things usually are."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Simple, we wait and watch. Rest now, Neha. Your training will start from tomorrow." Announced Saya calmly while coming over towards the unoccupied bed beside Hanabi's one. Her words causing Hanabi's eyes to widen in shock.

"What, really? Am I ready now?" the young human asked with enthusiasm and hope glowing on her face. The older woman simply smiled and answered, "We will see that tomorrow. Right now, sleep."

Hanabi grinned widely at this, feeling very happy and excited about the prospect of getting to finally learn more.   
"Don't worry, Sensei, I won't let you down!" she spoke energetically, feeling very giddy and jumpy. Saya sighed; perhaps telling her now was a bad idea. Now the girl will not sleep all night. But still, seeing that happy look on her face, Saya couldn't help but feel warm from within. Oh what would she not do to make sure that smile always stays on her precious human. So the ancient Sai'ore smiled back softly, "And I will not let you down."

\---X---

After a light breakfast consisting of healthy vegetable stew and a loaf of brown bread, Hanabi was walking around the streets of the Swan Kingdom. It was early morning so the crisp and cold air did a very good job at chasing away all her sleep. Not that she was too sleepy anyways because she was very excited about the lessons that Saya had in mind for her.

As for the said Sai'ore, Saya had left earlier to check upon Nhari and also to make a few arrangements for the plans they had that day, so she had suggested Hanabi to go out for a stroll to stretch her legs a bit.

Hanabi noticed that although morning, the people were working tirelessly to decorate the city for the upcoming event that would be held in the kingdom in about a week. Hanabi even noticed a huge arena like structure being constructed at the shore of the frozen Swan Lake just outside the city, probably where the real tournament would be held.

"They are actually going to do this.." she muttered to herself as Hanabi got lost in her own world. So lost that she again failed to see where she was walking.

"Look out!" again Hanabi ran into someone and again both of them fell on the ground and again it was none other than Guinevere herself. The Violet clad girl glared at the kunoichi, "You really need to look where you're going."

Admitting that it was her fault this time, Hanabi helped the Baroque up to her feet, "Sorry about that, didn't see you there. How's your arm?"

Forgetting about the fall in an instant, Gwen flexed her arm and answered, "I don't know what your elven friend did to me last night but my arm is completely healed, it's almost magical!"

Hanabi grinned at this, "Yeah, Saya-chan is just so awesome."

Gwen looked at the ninja flatly, "Apparently, so what are you doing so up and early?"

"Just out for a stroll, how about you? Thought you would still be in the luxurious royal guest room." Hanabi asked back.

Gwen huffed, "Oh please, Lavishness is something I am so accustomed to that I find it boring. What I desire is the thrill of adventure!" the arrogance in her voice was really unnerving Hanabi but she kept her cool. Today was a great day for her and she was not gonna let anyone ruin it for her.

Deciding to change the topic, Hanabi asked, "So, ready for the upcoming tournament?"

Gwen's mood soured considerably at this. She looked away in uncertainty, "I don't know... I am still not sure if this will work." The touch of vulnerability in her voice sounded foreign and out of place. It didn't settle well with Hanabi, so the ninja tried her best to comfort her rival-friend. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. If anything goes south, I'll beat up the Paxley myself for you." She spoke with a grin.

Her words really did lightened the mood considerably, something Gwen was very thankful for. "Thank you." She spoke sincerely. Then Gwen smiled mischievously, "Then who is going to save 'your' sorry arse?"

Hanabi scoffed at this, "Oh please, I handled the abyssal horde so I can handle some mages."

The Baroque gave her a sceptical look and said mockingly, "Sure you can."

Red with embarrassment and anger, Hanabi stomped her feet, "Really, I fought the Abyss!"

No longer being able to hold any longer, Gwen burst out laughing. One could swear that steam was coming off of Hanabi's ears right now, "Why you little..." but before she would strangle the youngest Baroque, Saya suddenly came into the scene along with her horse.

"I see that you two are getting along." She says sweetly, causing both Hanabi and Guinevere to sweat nervously. It seemed that they were still a bit cautious after her outburst towards them last night, so she laughed and reassured them, "No need to be scared, children, I'm not angry. But promise me you'll behave, I'm really not sure if the Princess will tolerate another brawl in her city." Her reasoning was sound, so both of them nodded.

"Now then, come on, Hana, We have a huge day ahead of us. You may come if you want Ms. Baroque but please don't disturb us during the training." To make her point clear, Nhari stomped her hooves and glared directly into Gwen's eyes, causing the girl to actually feel a shiver go down her back.

She turns towards Hanabi and asks, "Is it always this angry?"

The kunoichi shrugged "You'll get used to it." knowing that the old war horse hated everything except Saya. The two girls followed Saya and her horse outside the city, where they travelled deeper into the pine forest covered in snow.

It didn't take long for the group to reach a fairly huge clearing in the forest. It was still covered in snow but Saya had already cleared most of it so one could at least walk without trouble. One could distinctly make out the circular ring carved in the middle of the clearing. Hanabi could even make out some training dummies at the edge of the clearing and couldn't help but be more excited.

_'It's happening! It's really happening!"_

Saya suddenly called sternly, "Hanabi, hene aaah'bus." Hanabi barely understood the Sai'oren word but she understood enough to carry out the command.

The first thing she noticed was the fact that how rigid and stern Saya looked as she stood before her, this made Hanabi gulp nervously because this meant that the Sai'ore was really serious right now. Again with her stern voice, Saya spoke, "You've proven that you are ready for higher forms of Sai'oren martial arts but this only means that your real training starts now. I will not sugar coat for you, Child. It will be harsh, so I ask this, are you ready?"

Realizing the seriousness of the question, Hanabi took a deep breath and replied with determination, "Hai."

Saya smiled slightly; "Good..." she then tossed a wooden stick towards Hanabi, which the kunoichi caught easily, "Now, show me what you got." Poor Hanabi didn't even get the chance to protest.

\---X---

Guinevere may not have seen many different types of training techniques, but she could understand that what she was seeing today was absolutely brutal.

Hanabi was kneeling down on her knee while her body was covered in bruises. Saya stood over her with remorseful eyes but she was very quick to hide it with a stern face. "Get up, Hana. I know you're better than this..."

The ninja slowly stood up and glared at the taller woman, "I would do better, if you would at least teach me first!"

Saya chuckled at this, "I taught you the basics, now use them against me. And you know what they say? Experience is the best teacher. Haramb!" with that Saya was already on to Hanabi.

The Human panicked and tried her dam nest to avoid Saya's attack, the woman frowned at this and spoke in between her 'sword' swings, "Don't let your fear control you, stay calm and follow the movement of your enemies sword."

"Easy for you to say!" yelled Hanabi as she finally managed to parry Saya's attack. However, the taller woman again moved inside her defence and put Hanabi on her ass with a single sweep.

The Sai'ore shook her head and helped Hanabi up once more. "Now look closely." Saya got into her fighting stance and gestured Hanabi to follow, "Legs bent and apart. Not too far, just below the shoulder. Good, this is your footing; make it strong so that you will not fall down." Just after the explanation, Saya rushed in for an attack, but Hanabi was ready this time and was able to block the attack. Saya smiled at this because Hanabi was learning fast. The Human girl tried for a counter attack which was too sloppy to be effective at all, so Saya deflected the attack with a flick and frown appeared on her face.

"How you hold your sword is equally important as the force you put behind the attack." Saya explained while dodging Hanabi's attacks, "Hold it too hard, and you can snap your own wrist when your weapon collides." To prove her point, Saya regained her footing and parried Hanabi's sword with enough force that Hanabi actually let go of her sword and held her hand in pain. Luckily Saya had enough control over herself to make sure that her human's hand wasn't damaged but she had made her point clear.

The tall Sai'oren picked up Hanabi's sword and threw it back to her after she was done nursing her wrist. Saya spoke further, "The Sword is rigid, but you are not. Hold the hilt loose, it must be flexible enough to be versatile, but do be sure to not hold it too loose or else you might lose your sword. Do you understand?" Hanabi nodded and replicated Saya's hold.

Nodding in satisfaction, the woman said, "Acceptable. Now, again. Haramb!"

\---X---

The first emotion Gwen felt towards Hanabi was pity. Their training lasted the whole day and the poor girl was beaten badly and had bandages all over her body. She was too exhausted to stay awake, so Saya had opted to carry her in her arms while they made their way back towards the Swan Kingdom as the sun set further down the horizon.

Seeing such a state of her rival-friend, Guinevere couldn't help but ask, "What you did was brutal. I thought you were her friend."

Her words made Saya feel even guiltier then she was already feeling, "I understand Miss, Guinevere. Even I am not happy to do this to sweet, Hana. But if she wants to truly learn, then she will have to endure. There is no other choice."

"I get it but...... was all that beating necessary?" asked Gwen a bit more heatedly as they entered the gate of the City. Saya paused for a while at the girl's outburst. The concern in her voice was surprising for Saya, knowing that just today in the morning; they were at each other's throat. This caused the woman to chuckle and answer, "My people have a saying Miss, Guinevere. The brightest jewel is the one tempered in the hottest fire."

The Young Baroque pondered upon Saya's words till they finally reached the inn where Saya and Hanabi had been staying for a while.

"Now then, this is where we part, I'm sure your brother and sister-in-law must be worried about you. However, you are welcome to accompany Hanabi in her training; she might need all the support she can get." Suggested Saya as she pushed the door open. Guinevere nodded and was about leave, but before going away, she did voice one question that had been bothering her since the very beginning, "Miss.Saya, do really think this plan will work?" she asks with uncertainty.

Saya understood her nervousness and hesitation, thus she answered truthfully, "The first step towards success is the thought that you can indeed succeed. Have fate if your brother and friends, Miss. Guinevere. I'm sure you'll be fine."

Although not totally convinced, but now in a considerably lighter mood, Guinevere bid farewell and strode towards the direction of the palace, thinking on Saya's answer of her question.

The empress too went towards her own room in the inn, thinking about the Baroque. Although a bit short tempered and proud, she seemed like a good girl. As a royalty herself, she could somewhat relate to the predicament Gwen was currently in, the feeling of being helpless before the decisions where she herself had no say on. Saya really hoped and prayed for Guinevere's best future, but right now she had more trivial matters.

Saya gently laid Hanabi on the bed, while the human groaned in pain unconsciously. The Sai'ore frowned at this and then proceeded to remove Hanabi's footwear's and armour pieces so that she could lay peacefully. She completed her task but she was still far from done, she had to dress all of Hanabi's wounds so Saya got to work immediately.

Upon removing Hanabi's upper garments, she now got the full view of the damage she had inflicted upon her student, Hanabi's body was littered with deep bruises and small cuts. Nothing that would be considered fatal, Saya had made sure of it, but still it made her heart feel heavy with guilt, knowing that she was the one who inflicted those to her sweet human. Remorsefully Saya reached into her bag and pulled out her special medicinal mixture and started dressing Hanabi's wounds.

Her hands skilfully gliding over Hanabi's body, moving with precision and gentleness gained from countless practice, Saya worked tirelessly, her hands putting ointment over Hanabi's ailing body tenderly before covering it all with her herbal bandages. The mix would help her recover and heal much faster; making her ready for all the hardships that she would likely be facing in the days to come.

Saya looked upon Hanabi's face; she had to remove the kunoichi's mask so that she would have a more comfortable sleep. Her ebony hair, which was usually tied into a pony tail was now left free from its confines and cascaded down Hanabi's shoulders making her seem more beautiful than ever. Her face held a calm and serene expression, a contrast from what she had when Saya had arrived back into the room with her.

The Sai'ore tenderly caressed her human's cheek lovingly. Did she have any idea just how precious she was to her?

Maybe not, and it was better this way. Saya even was left to wonder that whether she was indeed being too hard on Hanabi, fearing that she might break or push away the only thing that was left in her life that was worth cherishing. But then again, she cannot keep coddling Hanabi forever after all. She could provide all that Hanabi could ever need, but she cannot provide all that Hanabi wanted. The Human was a free and proud creature; she wants to reach her heights on her own. She wanted a hand that guided, not the one that handed her down.

Saya could protect and shelter Hanabi all her life, but in doing so, she would take away the very reason Hanabi strode forward in life. Thus even if she didn't wanted to, Saya had to be strict. For Hanabi to truly achieve what she wanted, Saya will have to drive her to the ground, so that she could soar towards the sky. So, even if it hurts her heart, Saya was willing to endure for her human, she was willing to endure for Hanabi.

"Are you just going to stare?" Saya was startled when her human addressed her out of the blue.

It seemed that Hanabi was still awake and looking at her with those bright blue eyes that Saya could get lost in for hours. Gathering herself, Saya chuckled, "Fine, get some rest, Neha." With that Saya was about to depart to her own bed, but Hanabi was quick to protest, "I never said you can go back to the bed."

Saya raised her brow at this, "Is that so? So what does the great Scarlet flower command of me?"

Hanabi huffed at this and scooted further away towards a side of her bed to make more space. Then she said, or rather commanded, "Get in."

The request was out of the blue and honestly very embarrassing. Saya blushed a bit but composed herself and inquired further, "And why is that?"

Now it was Hanabi's turn to be red in embarrassment, "W-well, it's very cold and I could really use some extra heat. Plus you owe me for all the crap you put me through today." The older woman shook her head in amusement but carried out the request non-the-less. As soon as she got into the bed, Hanabi was quick to wrap her arms around Saya's waist and lay her head on Saya's bosom, something that Hanabi would do whenever they lay down together.

"Much better." Mumbled Hanabi' snuggling closer to Saya. The old Sai'ore smiled and placed a kiss upon the human girl's head.

"So, how did I do today?" asked Hanabi.

"Truthfully, you still need a lot of work, but for a beginner, you are not too shabby. No worried, we will work on your other flaws tomorrow." Answered Saya truthfully, finding Hanabi's offended expression absolutely offended.

"I will strangle you in your sleep.".....................


	39. A slight problem

Days passed by, Hanabi's training was still as brutal as her first day. Their routine was simple, each day Saya would drive Hanabi to the ground, sparring with her till she drops exhausted and unable to move a muscle. Her body would be filled with bruises which Saya would tend at the end of the day, only to be re-inflicted the other day. Saya's training was cruel yet its effectiveness was undeniable.

The improvements were crystal clear, Hanabi had always been a quick learner, so under Saya's constant efforts, she improved considerably. Saya's previous training on Hanabi's basics had helped her considerably to survive the new harsh training Saya put her through. The Sai'ore had been merciless and stern in her ways, something Hanabi was ironically grateful about. Her skills with melee weapons skyrocketed, Saya taught her to wield many weapons, daggers, staffs, and recently sword and shield.

In her culture, shield was something that was rarely used, so it was a totally foreign concept for Hanabi to start learning them. But she will not deny just how effective it was in a battle.

Today was the eleventh day after her first lesson on weapon combat. She stood with her wooden shield and curve sword, while Saya stood before her with her own set of shield and sword. Slowly they both got into a stance, their legs apart and body held low, their shield facing the other as they pointed their swords forward and ready to attack, slowly circling each other while, as usual, Gwen had been watching the two with curious eyes.

Suddenly the two charged at each other so the Baroque Heiress watches with fascination. She always thought that fighting was brutish and didn't have any beauty in it, but since the past week, she was very surprised how wrong she was. Hanabi moved in and performed a thrust attack; Saya parried it with her shield then followed up with her own attack, a downward slash. The Ninja girl immediately brought her shield up and blocked the attack. Wasting no time, she used her sword to get Saya's unprotected leg, but Saya gracefully moved her leg away and went in for a shield bash. But Hanabi, due to her past training was much more skilled now and met Saya's shield bash with her own shield.

The two looked at each other while they pushed each other with their shield. Saya smiled slightly, "You're learning well." with a mighty push, the two made some distance between them. Hanabi instantaneously got back to her protective stance and spoke, "I'm just getting started, Sensei."

It was like a very well choreographed dance, swords and shield were used as an extension of their own body, moving with mesmerising quickness and grace, it really made Guinevere grow a new found respect for all the warriors who dedicate their lives to learn their own form of respective martial arts.

This dance of death, continued for about a few more hours. As usual, Saya was victorious once again, but Hanabi had given her quite a challenge indeed. She had improved much since back then and Saya couldn't be more proud. Deciding that they had practiced for long enough, Saya declared a half an hour break, something Hanabi desperately needed.

The young human girl sat heavily under a tree while breathing heavily. Gwen came over her and smirked, "Tired so soon?"

"Very funny. Try getting your ass kicked for three hours straight." Grumbled Hanabi, clearly not amused at Guinevere's comment.

"Whatever..." The mage girl reached into the knapsack and took out some sandwiches. Hanabi immediately perked up at this and happily took one when Gwen offered some to her and Saya.

"Sometimes, I don't know whether to kill you or kiss you." Joked Hanabi digging into her sandwich while Saya and Gwen to laugh heartily at this. During the course of time, Hanabi and Gwen's relation had grown quite interestingly. Every day the violet clad girl would come to see them train, even sparring with Hanabi occasionally to test the Ninja girl and herself. Thus they had forged this bitter-sweet relationship. Often calling themselves rivals, they would bicker now and then when they thought Saya was not looking but still genuinely started caring about each other in their own unique way, like how Gwen would always conveniently bring extra lunch with her every time they were out in training.

Striking up a conversation, Saya spoke out, "The festival, if I am correct, will start tomorrow. Yes?"

Hanabi's eyes twinkled in anticipation at this, "Sweet, the tournament will be held as well, Can't wait to see it. How about you Gwen?"

Guninevere fidgeted nervously at this, "Well, you see..." however before she could continue further, she was interrupted when they heard the sounds of a horse trotting towards their location.

They all were quite surprised when a Palace guard approached them on his horse and announced, "Lady. Saya, Princess Odette asked for you presence in the castle."

Saya frowned at this, worried as why would the Princess ask for her at that moment.

\---X---

Swan Kingdom was indeed a beautiful city, but still the city was no match of the splendour of the Swan Palace. Made entirely out of white marble, it was a sight even god would be envy of, so rightfully, Hanabi and Saya were awed by it as it was their first time seeing it up close.

They were escorted through the grand Palace and towards the Royal chamber where Princess Odette had been waiting for them.

"Lady Saya, It's good to see you again." The princess exclaimed brightly while her lover, Lancelot stood beside her, gave a respectful nod as greeting.

"The honour is mine Princess. But I must ask, why have you summoned me now, I thought you would be busy with the events of the festival and the tournament?" the Sai'ore asked curiously.

She noticed how Odette flinched slightly at the mention of tournament and how her face held a nervous smile. Something was not right, Saya could practically smell it.

"Actually, that what I had to discuss about with you..." Odette mumbled nervously. However Lancelot was up to the point and finished it up for her, "We are yet to find a suitable candidate that would be our champion in the tournament."

The Ancient Sai'oren Empress blinked a few times at this, "The tournament is tomorrow and you are telling me this now?" Odette finally broke down. Crying comically, she bellowed, "I'm so sorry! I was just too excited that I forgot about it, Waahh!"

Lancelot went to consult his lover while Gwen's face paled like that of a ghost. Saya rubbed her temple in expiration.

"Fine, I will do it. I will be the disguised candidate."

This brought a surge of hope inside Gwen's being. Looking upon the tall woman in shock and hope, the girl asks, "Really? You would do that for me?"

Saya smiled softly at the young Baroque, "You're a friend now, Miss. Guinevere. What good of a friend would I be if I was not there to help you in your time of need?"

Her answer surprised Gwen, but yet again she couldn't have been more grateful. She thanked Saya over and over again for this.

However,  
"I'm afraid, you cannot do that." Spoke Lancelot all of a sudden causing all to look at him in confusion.

"What? But why?" exclaimed Guinevere angrily.

Fearing that his volatile sister would lash out, Lancelot reasoned, "Our kingdom is small and it's been very long since we had any contact with other kingdoms. In fear of rejection, we had to state in every invitation that even the Saviour of Mossenia, Lady Saya would be attending this function as well. All the guests and competitors will be expecting to see her in person, so if she is not present, they will think that the invitation is false and leave immediately. "

"I'm sorry, it was my idea!" chocked out Odette before crying even more hysterically.

Saya let the information sink in. Although she was quite offended that they basically used her as a mascot, but she was able to understand the logic behind that action, however Guinevere was utterly devastated by this revelation.

"SO NOW I HAVE TO MARRY SOME STRANGER WHO WINS ME LIKE PIECE OF PROPERTY!" roared Guinevere.

"That's not it, Gwen. Don't worry, we will think of something..." Lancelot tried to reason with his sister, but Gwen wasn't ready to hear any of it.

"THAT'S IT! I'M GETTING OUT OF THIS KINGDOM!" Gwen was about to leave but Hanabi stopped her with just three words, "I'll do it."

Her words shocked everyone in the room. Suddenly Odette wrapped her in a bone crushing hug, "Oh thank you! My Sister-in-law is saved!"

Saya looked upon her with concern, 'Are you sure about this, Neha?"

Hanabi simply smiled at this and answered, "What good of a friend would I be if I was not there to help her in her time of need?"

\---X---

Far away in a forest stood a young man on top of a small hill. He was tall, slim and had short brown hair. His face was very handsome and on his belt were many assortments of daggers. Right now he was reading a letter that had been sent to him by his family, a family that had abandoned him.

The letter read.

_My son,_

_It's been far too long since we had last we have last talked, but still the day when you chose your blasphemous arts over your family is still clear as crystal in my mind. However, I am ready to forgive your acts and even allow your new ways into the family._

_You need but to do a single task._

_The Baroque heiress has taken refuge in this so called Swan Kingdom. They are hosting a tournament to find suitors for her even when she is already supposed to be wed in our family._

_This is an abhorrent and an insult to our family name. I want you to go there and show them all the might of our family. The pride of the Paxley family now rests on your shoulder, come victorious my son and we welcome you and your bride with open arms._

_Lord Paxley._

The young man scoffed and threw the letter carelessly. "As if I want to come back...." However the man's gaze went back on the invitation of the tournament that was being held in the Swan Kingdom, especially the part which boldly stated that The Saviour of Mossenia would be there as well.

"Now this is something I can bother with....Let's see if you're as good as they say, Saviour of Mossenia." The man speaks ominously as his daggers glowed bright blue with his magic..............

(The independence day is coming so Happy 15th August my fellow Indians)


	40. The Tournament Begins

While Hanabi was serious and adamant on her decision to be the champion for the tournament the next day, however she would learn soon enough that saying something and doing the said-thing was in fact very different.

It was only until the dawn of next day that Hanabi was having doubts whether it was a good idea or not, a thought even Guinevere agreed on. But it was too late now and turning back was no longer an option.

“While I understand that I need a disguise, but must I really wear that thing?” exclaimed Hanabi pointing at the full plate knight armour with an astonished expression.

She along with, Saya, Princess Odette and the Baroque siblings were currently in the Castle barracks where Hanabi was currently being outfitted with a proper disguise. And unfortunately, her disguise was a full plate steel armour which looked like it weighed a ton.

Princess Odette just smiled sweetly while ushering the ninja girl forward, “Well of course! You’re going to be a knight and it will be proper if you dress accordingly.”

The Kunoichi paled at this, “But how can I even move in that thing!”

However Lancelot reassured her, “No need to worry, it may look very heavy but in reality it isn’t. Trust me.”

Although Hanabi was still not convinced but she had no other choice as her protest were ignored by the overly enthusiastic Odette.

It took well over half an hour for Hanabi to put on the armour even with the help of all the squires. The Knight armor was very complex and for a ninja, who rarely wears any sort of armour, it was a nightmare.

But when it was finally over, Hanabi looked like a genuine full plated Gothic Knight. And to her surprise, Lancelot was right, the amour was surprisingly light. It was build in such a way that the weight of the armour would be distributed equally all over the body, making so as if it was but a second skin to Hanabi. Sure she might not be as agile as she was before but she wasn’t a fumbling turtle as she had imagined herself to be.

Gwen was the first to comment, “Now you look like a proper Knight in shining armor.”

Hanabi grinned under her helmet and gave a thumbs up, “Worry not, distressed damsel, I shall save thou!” she speaks with the deepest voice she could measure up, causing everyone to share a laugh.

Recovering, Saya added with teary eyes, “I suggest not speaking, Neha. You might blow up your cover.”

“Or worst, get the title, Sir Squeaks-a-lot.” Teased Guinevere causing both Lancelot and Hanabi to whine in protest.

“Now that Hanabi’s disguise is done, it’s Lady Saya’s turn!” Odette’s sentence caused everyone to pause. Seeing their reactions, The Princess giggled and explained further, “I cannot allow the Saviour of Mossenia to just show up in woollen clothes now can I?”

Before Saya had the time to protest, Odette had already dragged her away. Lancelot followed his lover leaving only Hanabi and Gwen in the room.

Gwen looked nervously at Hanabi who was still getting used to the new armour she was wearing. Seeing her gaze upon her, Hanabi asked, “Nervous?”

Gwen simply nodded. The ninja girl lifted her visor and looked Gwen in the eyes with a kind look, “Don’t worry, I got this. My friend will no longer be prisoner of these ties.” Her words made Gwen’s heart melt.

To Hanabi’s shock, Gwen suddenly wrapped Hanabi in a hug, “Thank you so much.”

Hanabi smiled under her face mask (Yes, she still has her mask under her helmet)

“No problem.”

They stayed like this for a while before Gwen slowly parted. With a sly smile, she spoke, “Careful, Ninja Girl. I might just fall for you instead. That will not bode well for a certain green haired elf however.”

“What?”

“Nothing, Good luck!” Gwen hurried away with a mischievous smile leaving Hanabi very confused.

\---X---

Princess Odette was very persistent that Saya look the best during the event. Since most of the guest was coming over from all over the land because if the Saviour of Mossenia rather than the tournament itself, especially since the word got out that she even bested the Lava lord of the Abyss. The pride of Swan kingdom was at stake here so Odette had taken on to herself that the tall beauty would be dressed in an outfit ‘appropriate’ of her status. Thus we now find ourselves in one of the Royal chambers where they were figuring out which wardrobe would suit her best.

Many clothing articles were scattered around the floor, all tried and discarded as the frantic Princess went through one expensive dress to another.

“No-no-no, this will not do, too shabby…Too bright…Too skimpy…Too prude…”

Let’s just say it was not a smooth ride, especially to Saya who was on the receiving end of it.

She watched in amusement as the Swan Princess brain stormed pondering on which dress would suit Saya the best.

“Maybe a tux? No, that will be too bland.” Odette muttered to herself.

Saya cleared her throat, making Odette stop, “I understand that you only want the best for all of us, Princess but please, take it easy.”

However this did little to calm her dowm. Gasping in shock, Odette exclaims, “But we still need good clothers for you and we are running out of time!”

The Sai’ore couldn’t help but shake her head at the Human’s restless nature. Deciding to lend a hand, Saya speaks, “Very well, allow me.”

Odette was not sure for a while but finally gave in and let Saya decide what she wanted to wear.

Turns out it was the best decision she made all day.

Out of all the clothing, Saya chose a set of red velvet Sari, a very odd choice in Odette’s opinion but when Saya donned it, the Princess was speechless.

Saya let her usually tied hair fall down freely from her shoulders, reaching all the way down to her hip, she then held the sword Rose Gold Meteor, which was gifted to her by King Roderick of Mossenia as a symbol of her deeds. She just never used it as it was too fancy for her taste, but with the outfit, it looked spectacular. She held the sword by her hip and stood tall and proud.

She was the very image of elegance and beauty, not even Odette could keep her eyes off her.

Squeaking excitedly, Odette exclaimed, “Wow, you look like a queen!”

Saya merely chuckled at this, “So I have heard.”

\---X---

The day was clear and bright, perfect for the tournament that was to be held in the Swan kingdom. True to Odette’s words, many of the kingdoms had come to visit her kingdom on her invitation. Although only a few were interested in the tournament itself. Most just wanted to set up political relationships with the previously scarce Kingdom and some had came just to see the Slayer of Thamuz with their own eyes as Saya’s latest feat had made her very famous. And she more then turned a few heads with her exotic look.

But this did work in their way to an extent. If less people were interested in participating in the Tournament then Hanabi would have less competition to worry about.

After welcoming the Visitors warmly into their city, all had gathered in the temporary arena.

Housing over a thousand spectures, it was really amazing how fast the workers of Swan Kingdom were able to build the sturdy wooded arena in such a short time.

Odette, Saya, along with the rest of the Royal guests were seated at the highest seats of the arena, giving an uninterrupted view of the entire arena.

Slowly Odette stood up from her seat and conveyed her speech, “I thank you all for coming here on my request, Especially our honoured guests who have come all the way from their distant home to Celebrate with us. Today , as per a hundred year old tradition has always been celebrated as the day of the Swans, the day when my predecessors were finally able to establish our fair kingdom. For too long we have been hidden, but now its time to look forward towards the future and be an active part of the land we reside in.”

The corwd clapped enthusiastically at the Princesses’ words. When the clapping died down, Odette continued further, “Now for the main event of the day…” On her Beckon, Guinevere came forth, now clad in an exquisite purple dress, which caused all of the on lookers to gasp at her beauty. Smirking at their reaction internally, Odette added, “It is an age old tradition of our land that suitors battle for the right for the hand of their beloved. And thus to honour that tradition, we have hosted this tournament. Not only will this be a fight for love, but also a step towards forging a new and strong friendship amongst all of us.”

At her words, the crowd exploded in cheers, all very eager of the sport that was about to start.

“The Winner shall, as per the old Laws, have right to my Sister-in-law’s hand in marriage. Let the tournament begin!”

The crowd cheered once more and horns were blown, signalling the start of the tournament……..

(I am extremely sorry for the shortening of chapters. Although I thank you all who bared with me and read my stories. Thank you all.)


	41. Round one

The tournament had started. Hanabi along with several other competitors were seated in the arena as well, enjoying the view like all the spectators but also awaiting their number to be announced so that they could show their prowess in the duel.

The rules of the event was simple, the combatants would fight each other and the winner will be allowed to go to the next round where they will again battle with the winners of the other rounds. This would go on till the grand finals where the last remaining two competitors would engage in the ultimate battle. The Victor will get the chance to take on the challenge given by Guinevere and if the champion is able to successfully perform the task, he will rightfully be allowed Guinevere's hand in marriage.

So all Hanabi had to do was reach to Grand Finals and win, then fail in Guinevere's task and everything will be right as rain. Simple as it was, but Hanabi was really starting to doubt that now.

Hanabi sized up her opponents and gulped nervously under her helmet. Warriors from all over the land had come to participate in the tournament. The East, the Mossenians, the Southerners. And the fact that almost everyone was at least a head taller than her, Hanabi was very intimidated.

She was even sure that there weren't this many people willing to compete in the tournament just this morning, she wonders what could've caused that.

Hanabi's head jerked towards the arena when the announcer called the two competitors to the arena to fight for the hand of the fair Maiden in Violet.

\---X---

Guinevere looked at the arena with uncertainty as she saw all the combatants competing with each other. While no doubt that Hanabi was powerful in her own right but fighting against mindless monsters and well seasoned warriors was a totally different thing. Gwen had seen Hanabi fight, she was more focused in ranged combat and totally novice in melee combat, especially with close quarter weapons as the ninja girl had just recently started practicing one just a week ago, while these warriors had been training all their lives in the art of combat.

That was the reason why she was very worried, worried about Hanabi's safety and also worried whether she could pull this off or not.

"Are you all right?" a voice called her, causing Gwen to look up and make eye contact with Saya who had called her. Saya had been given privilege to sit along with the Sawn Kingdom's Royals and she just happened to be beside the younger Baroque. The Sai'ore must've sensed her distress and voiced her concern. Gwen shuddered and mumbled lowly, "I'm worried, Miss. Saya. What if she gets hurt?"

The tall woman understood her concern, and it would be a lie if she said she herself wasn't concerned either. The odds were stacked up against Hanabi but still Saya had hope. "Trust her, Miss. Guinevere. I'm sure she can do it." Whether this is more to herself or to Gwen, no one knew. But they would trust their friend. They would trust Hanabi.

\---X---

As the tournament went on, so did the level of Hanabi's anxiousness. The amount of crowd that were cheering and looking at the unfolding fight was making her very self conscious. Hanabi was never good with crowd so the present spectators made her very nervous and her heart felt like it could burst out of her chest at any moment. She was lucky that she had her helmet on or else all would've laughed their ass off by just seeing her expression. Suddenly the announcer, much to Hanabi's dread, announced the names of the latest contestants who were to compete. Hanabi forgot what the other name was but the next name announced nearly made her have a heart attack.

" Sir. Thonius, please come to the arena!"

That was her disguised name!

Or the name under which she had entered into the tournament.

Hanabi stood up rigidly and started walking towards the barrack area to get her weapons. Her steps were nervous and quivering, something which did not go unnoticed by the other warriors.

"He isn't gonna last a round" one of them smirked while the rest snickered. This made Hanabi angry but it did motivate her enough to pull herself together. Begrudgingly Hanabi swears in her mind, "I'll show you."

\---X---

Gwen watch with hitched breath as Hanabi's name was announced and her friend disguised in knight armour walked into the arena. Saya frowned as she could clearly see that her student was nervous. Her body language screamed of hesitation and it left her open to be exploited.

Hanabi was panicking inwardly. Being one of the crowds was easy, but now that she was now the centre of attention of about a thousand individuals in the middle of an arena, Hanabi felt like deer caught in a spot light and it took a lot of her will power to not shudder like a leaf in a storm.

"Combatants ready!" the announcer shouted, making Hanabi finally look at her opponent. There, standing a few feet before her was a very familiar brand of warrior Hanabi was more than accustomed to. Hailing from the Far East, her opponent was a samurai warrior, an eternal rival of the shinobi. 

Clad in the iconic Karuta armour, The Samurai gracefully unsheathed his katana sword and got into his fighting stance.

Hanabi gulped and raised her own weapon of choice. Bringing her original weapons like kunai and Higanbana was out of question so she had opted to choose the most knight-ish weapon she could think of, an arming sword and a heater shield.

The Samurai spoke with a regal voice, "Let's have an honourable show down."

Hanabi really wanted to reply but kept quite wisely as she knew her voice will blow her cover. The announcer struck a giant bell, signalling the start of the match and the battle begun.

The Samurai blitzed towards Hanabi as soon as the bell was struck. Hanabi barely had time to raise her shield to block the dash attack but the samurai was dead set on finishing this fast. Keeping the pressure, the samurai quickly got behind her and slashed his sword once again. His katana struck true and had it not been for her steel armour, Hanabi would've had a very deep cut on her back. The Samurai cursed and stepped back a few feet to form a new plan of attack.

Hanabi got this brief breather but not for long as the Samurai was on to her once again, putting her on defensive once again.  
  


\---X---

The Violet clad mage looked watched pitifully. Hanabi was barely holding up and till now she had not even lay a single counter attack.

"Fight back. Fight back!" Gwen muttered through gritted teeth but Hanabi did not or could not fight back. It was as if she had entirely forgotten everything that Saya had taught to her.

Saya frowned at this. This was exactly like what happened a few days ago.

**_Flashback..._ **

_It had been two days since she had been training with Saya. She had improved since the last day, but that achievement was suddenly deteriorated._

_That particular day, Lancelot and his lover Odette had followed Guinevere as to see where does she get lost all day, they followed the young mage all the way up to their little training ground. Fascinated by this, the two royalties decided to spectate as well and this suddenly caused Hanabi to perform very badly._

**_Flashback end..._ **

The Sai'ore had later found out that Hanabi was not very good at dealing with audiences. Not something unusual as Ninjas usually work in the back ground so Saya could only imagine what Hanabi must be going through right now.

\---X---

The disguised ninja again barely avoided another attack form the Samurai. Her armour had protected her till now, but it was evident that her opponent was learning. He learns fast that slash would be useless on steel armour so he improvised and was now targeting the weaker parts of her armour, like the joints.

"Cancel out the surroundings and focus." Hanabi chanted in her mind the advice Saya had given her in one of their lessons and tried to calm herself.

She tries a defensive position and readies herself. Chanting Saya's advice as a mantra Hanabi tried to focus, but the crowd suddenly erupted in cheers causing Hanabi to lose focus once again and break her guard unconsciously, just what the Samurai needed. He was immediately on to her and performed several elegant and well executed attacks. Hanabi couldn't avoid them all and got damaged pretty well, the samurai then swept his legs under Hanabi's feet, making her fall on the ground as the man stood back up straight and sheathed his sword gracefully.

"The result was decided the moment you stepped in this arena." The Samurai spoke impassively and walked away.

Leaving Hanabi fallen on the ground. The crowd cheered for the victor making Hanabi feel even more terrible. Her eyes looked up at the crowd. There were so many people, it was overwhelming. Hanabi wanted to hide, hide from all these people and hide away from their mockery and laughter. Then Hanabi's eyes fell on the Royals of the Swan Kingdom, especially the maiden clad in Violet dress. Guinevere's face was filled with worry, yet still she held something that made Hanabi realize what she was fighting for. Hope.

She remembers how that during the short time they had known each other and made fast but unlikely friends. How beyond all the teasing and taunting, there lay a beautiful and strong friendship. Hanabi remembers one of the many talks she had with Gwen.

**_Flashback..._ **

_Hanabi collapsed as soon as Saya announced a break after her pathetic performance that day. Guinever came over to her and commented blandly, "That was pitiful."_

_Hanabi glared at her and barked heatedly, "Try fighting with a demon with three people staring at your arse!" By now even Guinevere that Hanabi would get nervous under audiences. No matter what, Hanabi just couldn't let go of her self-conscious nature, causing her to be distracted very fast in a battle, something which can and will get her killed in a real battle. Even Saya's advices to 'Cancel out the surroundings and focus' was not working._

_Guinever couldn't help but laugh, which caused Hanabi to pout and face away, making Guinevere laugh even louder and hug her while apologizing over and over._

_It took a good while for Guinevere to cheer Hanabi up. Now in a lot better mood after a nice and tasty sandwich by Guinevere, Hanabi tried to strike up a conversation, "So, How goes the preparation for the tournament?"_

_Gwen smiled crudely at this, "Well, Princess Odette can be quite enduring at times, but she was not joking when she was saying she would host a tournament. But under all that hyper-activeness, she genuinely cares."_

_The Ninja girl nodded at this. The two look ahead towards the training ground, where Saya and Lancelot were exchanging knowledge about their different styles of martial arts. Hanabi cleared her throat and asked, "No offense, but even I have heard about the son of the Paxley family and I have heard he is a pretty neat guy. Most girls would die to be in your place."_

_The Violet clad girl lowered her gaze as this, silent for a long while. Feeling that she might had offended the mage, Hanabi was about to say sorry but Gwen spoke, "I know, but... I just want to be free."_

_Gwen looks afar, across the pine forest and the snowy mountains, "I want to choose by my own destiny, I want to live as I want. I know it might seem very stupid but... from very small I have always been subjected to other's will. I cannot live like this anymore."_

_Small snowflakes fell from the sky as Hanabi listened to Guinevere's words. The Baroque heiress gently caught a snowflake in her arm, "Every being has the right to choose. I want that right too. If only I could choose... If only I had freedom."_

**_Flashback end..._ **

Till now, Guinevere's dreams had only been but dreams. However, over the course of few days, Guinevere had got the opportunity to actually make that a reality. For now she had hope.

Hope that she would be free, hope that she too would have a chance to choose her own life. And all those hopes rested upon Hanabi's shoulders.

With fate of her friend resting on shoulders, Hanabi couldn't stay down. Not now, not when the hopes of friend rested on her.

'Just like what Saya said, "Cancel out the surroundings and focus".' The ninja girl chanted in her head and made yet another effort. And so Hanabi stood up. She could still go on and she will go on, because she had made a promise and she intends to keep it. So she stood up once again and readied herself for the battle.

Such display drove the crowd mad as they cheered even more, even the samurai looked at her with wide eyes, "I respect your spirit but the result is clear. You will lose, so please give up. I don't want to hurt you unnecessarily."

As an answer, Hanabi simply banged her sword on her shield and got into a stance. The Samurai sighed and got into a stance as well, "Very well. If this if what you want then I will honour your wish and defeat you traditionally."

Hanabi rolled her eyes as the honour obsessed Samurai and got ready, the fight was far from over.

The Samurai attacked once more, but this time Hanabi was ready. Before her opponent's katana reached her, Hanabi suddenly brought up her shield and blocked the attack. The Samurai didn't worry however and tried to move in for another attack but suddenly Hanabi bashed the Samurai with her shield and pushed him away, shocking her opponent.

The disguised Ninja girl then twirled her sword and taunted the Samurai by banging her sword on the shield.

\---X---

Saya watched as Hanabi faced one of her fears head on and got ready for the fight. She was still quite scared, but still her duty and stubbornness was what drove her to strive further and further, Saya couldn't be more proud.

"I trust you, Hanabi. I know you can do it."

\---X---

The Samurai circled his opponent wearily, Hanabi had been quite docile till now in the match but now she was far from docile. Having pulled herself somewhat from her own fear, Hanabi was now ready. This was evident as she was now able to block the Samurai's attacks more efficiently and even countered his attacks, something she had not done in the entire part of the previous round.

"Cancel out the surroundings and focus." She kept chanting in her mind.

Her opponent took a few steps back, visibly winded by the continuous attacking session. This was when Hanabi decided she was done being on defensive. Hanabi charged towards the Samurai and his eyes widened in shock. Hanabi slashed her sword at the samurai and he had to parry it, unfortunately Hanabi used her shield to bash the samurai in the chest, staggering him a bit. At this moment Hanabi attacked once again, causing the Samurai to curse and unsheathe his Wakizashi, holding the two blades in a dual wielding fashion.

The battle was now one worthy to be called one. The samurai was very skilled, but Hanabi was not push over either. Samurai had the higher attacking options with his two swords, but Hanabi's shield was a much more advantageous tool. Plus the fact that she was now utilizing the defensive capabilities of her armour, Hanabi absolutely loved the armour now. True the Samurai was faster than her due to the armour, but she could only be hurt by a blunt and heavy weapon. And since she was now more active, the Samurai couldn't risk going into her guard and trying to take advantage of all the weak joints of her armour without getting a shield or pommel to his face.

Deciding that it was time to finish this, Hanabi prepared herself for a final attack.

Up in the podium, Saya's eyes widened, as she realized what her student was about to do.

Hanabi got into a low stance and waited for her opponent. The Samurai wanted to finish this as well and readied his weapons. Letting out a breath, he dashed towards her in an attempt to attack. But Hanabi was ready for this. Just before the Samurai swung his sword, Hanabi lashed out and held the man's hand by wrist, shocking everyone. Before he could react, Hanabi hit him in the face with the pommel of her sword, incapacitating him for a moment. All the time, Hanabi needed to hurl the samurai over to her shoulders and lift him up.

Her training with Saya had really helped her here as she could easily life the man the then threw him over on the ground. The poor samurai didn't have time to reach when Hanabi suddenly jumped and gave him a elbow slam, causing everyone's jaws to drop.

It was surreal, completely out of this world, but the effect was undeniable. The Samurai was out cold, Hanabi had won.

"The Winner is Sir. Thonius!!" the crowds cheered loudly at this and Guinevere let out a breath of relief that she had been unconsciously holding while Saya held a proud smile.

Hanabi slowly looked around at the arena as the people cheered. She smiled under her helmet and gave a wordless wave to the crowd before walking back towards her place, her little action causing the crowd to cheer even louder.

When the cheers died down, the announcer spoke once again, "Now, get ready for the next match! Lord. Iron heart of the North versus Gusion Paxley!"

Somewhere from within the combatants, a young man mutters, "This will be easy."...... 


	42. Round two

"...The next match! Lord. Iron heart of the North versus Gusion Paxley!" as soon as the name was announced, it rang alarm bells throughout all of the Royalties of Swan Kingdom. More specifically, inside Guinevere.

"A Paxley? Here??" she almost screamed.

"Paxley is one of the most renowned families in the empire, of course they would get the invitation as well." explained Lancelot as the handsome young man walked towards the arena.

Guinevere however was not very thrilled about this development. She protested, "Hello! We are having this tournament for the soul reason so that I don't have to marry a Paxley!" she was getting really angry now. Trying to be the voice of reason, Saya tried to calm her down, "No need to overreact. The whole tournament is still ahead; maybe he will be defeated by one of the competitors?"

But the Violet clad girl did not calm down a bit, "You don't understand! He is a mage! Warriors cannot win against a mage!" she said frantically.

Back in the area, Gusion looked at his opponent. Lord. Iron Heart, a man of North so he was very tall and heavily build. Armed with a huge Dane Axe, the Viking-like man was ready to cleave the pretty boi before him into half. However the Paxley seemed totally unfazed, bored even and this seemed to infuriate the man even more.

"I'll carve you to pieces." Iron Heart hissed.

Gusion simply smirked arrogantly, "Just try to keep up with me."

"Combatants ready!" The announcer called before striking the bell and signalling the start if the match. Willing to finish this fast and teach the prideful pretty boi a lesson, the Viking let out a loud battle cry and charged. A sight of a Viking charging towards you is utterly terrifying, but still Gusion was calm as ever.

Suddenly before anyone could react, Gusion pulled a knife from his belt and threw it towards Iron Heart. The Knife struck true and got embedded on the Vikings shoulder. Then with a speed almost none could follow, Gusion dashed towards Iron Heart. No one had any idea what really happened but Lord Iron Heart of the north, now lay unconscious and defeated on the ground. And the fight didn't even last a minute. Seeing such skills, the crowd cheered wildly, while Guinevere's heart sank even more.

"He...He is fast. How? Paxley are mages, but he is strong too?" questioned Lancelot to himself with utter bewilderment.

Saya narrowed her eyes at this as she could sense that Guison was not like other mages who depended merely on magic itself. He was using physical skills with Magic and frankly, it was a dangerous combination. Truly a perfect combination of might and magic, no wonder Guinevere was so worried.

Without another glance, Gusion left the arena and took back his seat along with the other competitors as Iron Heart was taken to the infirmary by the servants.

"Hmph, this will be easy." He mutters to himself. The others heard him and didn't look please. Only Hanabi however was weary for the Paxley.

\---X---

True to his words Gusion carved through the competition like hot knife through butter. None of the combatants were much of a challenge to the young Paxley as his magic was able to totally over power them. Some even accused that Gusion using his magic was cheating but since there was no rules that stated that magic was prohibited so Gusion went all out.

His magic mixed with his skills was just too much for the other warriors to handle. Finishing fights with only but a single slash, he would walk away saying these simple words "Don't be so jealous, I was born for this..."

The young Paxley won the hearts of the crowd, especially the female population of the kingdom who were now head over heels for the young and handsome mage. Even long before the end of the tournament, it seemed that the Victor was already clear. However, Hanabi had other plans.

Sir. Thonius or Hanabi was perhaps the most under qualified combatant to enter the arena yet she brought something that was severely lacking in the arena. The others brought with them their skills, their experience and pride, things that Hanabi lacked. Yet what she had was something that not even Gusion had. It was sheer will.

Unlike the other fighters, who where to just test their mettle and for political reasons, Hanabi was fighting for a purpose and thus she had a reason to fight harder than any other person. That was the reason why she was able to best the fighters who were far more experienced than herself. Her utter stubbornness and persistence was something that surprised all of them. The fire in her intrigued them and her sprite inspired them.

Many times she was outmatched, many times she was beaten, yet she didn't stop. She carried on and fought like none other. Never giving up or succumbing to her fall, she kept raising up. It was almost surreal. Her will power was strong was and her determination was adamantine, such was her commitment that her foes would eventually have to give in to her superior spirit and Hanabi would win. Not an easy victory but definitely one that was well earned.

She who first started out as a weak laughing stock was now winning the respect of not only the crowd, but the combatants as well.

Such was yet another fight; Hanabi was up against a Knight Warden, an experienced and honourable warrior against whom Hanabi was barely holding up against.

The Warden attacked relentlessly, "Spirit alone will not aid you, Sir. Thonius. Show me what you got!"

Mentally answering him back, Hanabi brought up her shield to block an attack and followed up with her own attack. Each battle was a thrill for Hanabi. The different types of warriors she faced taught her many things, thus making her more effective after each fight. She was learning so much and Hanabi absorbed all the information like a dry sponge, it was truly a treasure chest of knowledge for her.

Pushing the Knight away with her shield, Hanabi immediately got back into her defensive position. The fights of had been long and numerous, so naturally she was a bit tired. Being defensive gave her the much needed breather she need time to time in her fights.

The Warden circled Hanabi like a vulture with his long sword held in a high guard. Suddenly he attacked but instead of using his blade edge, The Warden flips his sword and holds it by the blade then hits Hanabi with its cross guard.

Saya immediately recognised the technique and cringed, "Half swording?"

Using the sword as in improvised blunt weapon was more effective than Hanabi had hoped it to be as her arm hurt after the impact of the Warden's attack. He charged in once again swung his sword over Hanabi. The Ninja Girl brought out her shield to block it but the attack was so powerful that it sent her shield flying out of her grasp.

Hanabi was so surprised by this that didn't had time to react when the Warden kneed her in the gut and sent her to the ground holding her stomach. With the aim to finish the fight, The Knight was about to give the last blow but the ninja girl immediately brought up her sword and blocked the attack. Quickly, Hanabi redirected the attack elsewhere and used the disarming technique that Saya had taught her. However, the disguised Ninja girl had been clumsy and ended up disarming herself as well.

To which all the people up at the Royal Booth to face palm. (i.e. Saya, Guinevere, Odette and Lancelot)

Hanabi didn't have much time to ponder on her mistake as the Warden roared and threw a punch at her. While she had not been too skilled with weapons, Hanabi had definitely learned a thing or two in unarmed combat so that was the reason why she was immediately able to take a hold of Warden's wrist and move inside his defence. Turning on her heel, Hanabi yanked and threw the larger man over her using his own weight against him.

Once he was down, Hanabi immediately wrapped her legs around his arm in an arm lock. No matter how much the warden tried but he couldn't break out of Hanabi's lock and he had to ultimately give in and surrender. The crowd cheered as Sir. Thonius achieved yet another hard victory.

As a token of good will, Hanabi offered her hand to The Knight Warden who accepted it whole heartedly, "In all my years, I never had such a fight. You Sir are something else." They both shook hands, showing upmost respect and enthusiasm even though Hanabi never uttered a word.

The combatants left the arena and the announcer spoke in a loud booming voice, "People of our fair Kingdom and beyond, today has been a blessed day as these brave warriors had tested themselves against the best the Land has to offer. They have overcame hard battles to reach this stage, thus I now present to you the two final competitors of this tournament. I give you, Sir. Gusion Paxley!" the crowd, especially the girls cheered loudly as said man sat calmly on his place. Earning many scoffs form the competitors he had defeated.

Then the announcer said the name of the other competitor, "and challenging him will be Sir. Thonius!"

As soon as the name was mentioned, everyone seemingly lost it. They cheered so loudly that the stadium trembled. Hanabi's show of valour and dedication had earned her quite a lot of followers.

Guinevere looked at her friend clad in metal armour; she listens to the people cheering in her name. They believed in her, they believed that even though odds are stacked against her, Hanabi would somehow prevail. Her will was just too powerful. And with the kind of victories Hanabi had been having, even Guinevere was staring to believe it.

"If anyone can defeat Gusion, it's you...My friend..."

\---X---

Outside the city wall, we see two cloaked figures walking through the frozen path, steadily making way towards the Kingdom of swan. Their looked like average traveller with their face hidden by the large hood they wore. However one thing that stood out was the thing one of the traveller was carrying on their back. It was mysterious article wrapped around a cloth and was fastened securely around the person's back.

Breathing out a puff of warm air in the chilling environment, the person mutters, "Hope I am not too late......"

(Note:- Extremely sorry for the late update, I had been caught in some businesses. To all my readers who have read till now, a thousand thanks)


	43. Final round

“Ouch!” Hanabi hissed as Saya patted a damp cloth over the various wounds and bruises that covered Hanabi’s body. Before the final round, both the combatants were given a break so that they could prepare for the final battle in the tournament.

That was the reason why we find Hanabi seated in the barracks with her armour stripped off and Saya tending to her wounds even when though the human insisted that she was okay. The Sai’ore woman would have none of it and dressed her wounds all the while scolding Hanabi for her recklessness.

However, aside all her scolding and worry, it was clear that Saya was so very proud of what Hanabi had done that day. Achieving such feat in so little time, she was proud that Hanabi had come this far in so little time. And seeing Saya beam with pride made Hanabi very happy and warm from within.

Then the reality dawned upon them once again. The last match was upon them and Hanabi would have to face off against perhaps one of her most deadly foe. Saya didn’t doubt the capabilities of Hanabi, yet she had see what the young Paxley could do and honestly, Saya was afraid; afraid that the boi would inflict too much damage upon Hanabi while Saya would only be able to watch helplessly from afar.

As if sensing her distress even without a word, Hanabi took a hold of Saya’s hand. When she looked upon the young ninja’s face, Hanabi gave Saya a bright smile, “I’ll be alright.” She gently squeezed Saya’s hand for reassurance.

Saya looked upon her human with a small smile and nodded.

The door of the Barracks suddenly opened, causing both of them to jump in fright but let out a breath of relief when they learned that it was just Guinevere. The youngest Baroque came towards Hanabi and wrapped her in a hug. A bit shocked at first but Hanabi returned the gesture as well. After the moment of warm interaction, Gwen finally parted and looked Hanabi in the eye, “I believe in you, Hanabi.”

Her simple words boosting Hanabi’s morals to unbelievable levels. She grinned at this and nodded, “Don’t worry, I got this.”

\---X---

Gusion casually flicked his dagger in his hand while he was seated in one of the other barracks, enjoying his break before the final match with Sir. Thonius. The door of the barracks was then slowly pried open and in came some figures clad in dark robes. Gusion instantly recognised them as the Wizards of the Paxley family and scoffed in irritation.

The leader of the wizards, who sported a broken nose (courtesy of Saya in chapter 34) bowed, “Young Lord Gusion, Lord Paxley sends his regards…”

But before the man could continue, Gusion butted in, “I don’t care what the old man sends. I’m not doing this for them anyways.”

His words shocking the mages. It took a while for the mage leader to pull back his senses and spoke once more, “While that might be true, I’m sure you will need some assistance in this last battle….”

At this Gusion laughed uncontrollably, “You think some guy in a tin-can can stand against my magic? Ha! This entire tournament is a joke. I will be done with this Thonius just like I had done with the others.” he declares, arrogance dripping with every word he spoke. Truly he was indeed a son of the Paxley family, ever so prideful as they were powerful.

The Mage hung his head in defeat, knowing that Gusion will not take any assistance that they had to offer. A shame really, because after so many battles and constant use of his magic, Gusion must’ve been fatigued and drained of mana. But as the Boi said, he didn’t need assistance.

“Very well, Young Lord. I will leave you be…” the mage and his subordinates made their way out. However, before going, the leader turned back, “Careful, Young Lord. This Thonius seems exceptionally skilled. He fights like none other we have seen….” He then reaches into his robes and pulled out a veil containing blue liquid; a mana potion to restore magical essence. The robed man placed the potion on a table nearby and bids his farewell, “A small gift as token of good will. Good bye, Young Lord.” With that the mages left, leaving Gusion all alone in the room.

The young boi held the mana potion in his hand; his face frowned in a deep thought. The man was right, Gusion had seen Thonius fight. Perhaps he might just need a little help but then again, his pride won’t have it. Scoffing, Gusion threw the potion veil away, the glass bottle shattering upon coming in contact with the stone floor.

“I am Gusion The Holy Blade. I don’t need help. Especially from them.” he mumbles to himself. He puts his knife back into his belt and walks out of the barracks. He had a fight to win.

\---X---

The entire arena cheered as the two final combatants entered the battle field. Each side having equal supporters, both side dying to see them win or lose. It was clear that this match was highly anticipated. Hanabi, now back in her armour, was ready to give her all in this fight. Her friend’s fate lay on this match and she was determined to win this. Gusion however, sported nothing but a confident smirk on his face. Oh Hanabi couldn’t wait to wipe it off his face but she will have to be careful. This boi was dangerous and if he is anywhere as good of a swordsman as he was good looking, Hanabi would have to be extra careful.

However before the match started, Gusion raised his hand, causing all to pause. “I have a condition.” He says, pulling the attention of all the people in the arena. Then he declares, “The Fights I had were unsatisfying. After this match, I want a Duel with The Slayer of Thamuz!” He says pointing his knife challengingly towards Saya who was seated up with Odette, Lancelot and Guinevere in the royal Podium. His words making everyone gasp. Some admiring his courage and some scoffing at his arrogance.

This had been why Gusion came into this tournament after all. To challenge the so called Saviour of Mossenia . All Gusion ever wanted was fame; he wanted his name to be known all throughout the Land of Dawn. And what better way to do so than to defeat the newest arising hero of the Land in a Duel?

“So, what say you, Slayer of The Lava Lord? Do you accept this challenge?” Gusion challenged in front of all the audience, knowing that now, Saya had no choice but to accept.

The said woman kept her cool and replied loudly, “ ** **IF**** you win the match.”

Saya’s answer causing the arena to explode in cheers while Gusion sported an offended look. It he was clearly underestimated the capabilities of Hanabi, something she was eager to make him pay for.

“Combatants ready!” the announcer yelled, making the two to ready their stance. “Begin!” with the ring of the bell, the match started.

Gusion wanted to finish this fast so he immediately threw his blade towards Hanabi, who hastily brought up her shield to defend herself. The knife got embedded into her shield but she was unharmed. Gusion followed up by performing the second phase of his technique that was by appearing behind Hanabi. However the ninja girl was prepared for this as she had seen this technique being used quite a few times with other victims of the young Paxley. She immediately whipped around and hit him in the head with the pommel of her sword, causing him to fall on the ground with a ringing sensation in his head.

Knowing that this would probably be the only opening she would get so she immediately was on to him. But what she didn’t know was that Gusion was a lot crafty then she had previously anticipated because Gusion used his magic to greatly enhance his speed and get out of the way before Hanabi could even react.

Just as suddenly as he was gone, he appeared before her. A slight bruise on his head but all in all, not harmed much. He slowly pulled out his knife and with a smirk he says, “Take a guess, at how swords I have?”

Hanabi was confused at this but she didn’t expect Gusion to suddenly throw five daggers towards her. She barely protected herself with her shield but Gusion wasn’t done. He rolled forward and threw more daggers at her. With so many daggers now sticking to it, her shield was now useless as its main wooden body was broken. She had to discard it. However Gusion ran out of daggers and only had one last left in his possession, making Hanabi sigh in relief that the dagger onslaught was at least over.

How wrong she was.

Gusion smirked when the daggers he had thrown started levitating in the air.

“Shit…” was all Hanabi could say because the next moment the daggers returned towards Gusion at break neck speed, dealing critical damage to Hanabi as she happened to be standing just in the way.

Unable to withstand the power of the attack, Hanabi fell to her knees as her body was failing. His attack hurt a lot, and the magical nature of his dagger easily by passed her armour and sapped out her energy. It was actually a miracle that Hanabi hadn’t passed out because of it.

Seeing a shadow ahead of her, Hanabi looked up and saw Gusion standing before her, looking down at her arrogantly. “No need to be so jealous. I was born for this.”

Everyone watched with hitched breath as Gusion was about to deal the final blow with his dagger. Especially Saya who was using all her might not to intervene in the match and blow Hanabi’s cover.

“You were a bit of a challenge, not many have forced me to use my best move. For that I salute you.” was Gusion’s final comment, before powering up his dagger for the attack. Only this time……..his powers didn’t worked.

Confused beyond words, Gusion gaped like a fish and exclaimed, “What?” it was then something hit him hard. He had been fighting all day without rest and using his ultimate technique had completely drained him.

HE WAS OUT OF MANA!

Gusion really wished that he had not thrown away that mana potion back in the barracks right now but it was already too late. Hanabi, although heavily damaged, used what was left of her might to knock the dagger out of his hand with her sword, effectively disarming him and bringing Gusion to equal grounds. Ignoring all the pain in her body, Hanabi launched forward and shoved Gusion to the ground.

Fortune seemed to have favoured Thonius or Hanabi once again as the cheering crowd watch with glee as she dealt blow after blow to Gusion who was almost helpless without his magical dagger.

Punch after punch, Gusion was getting a thrashing he had never had in his entire life as Hanabi softened him up with her far superior hand-to-hand skills. She had him pinned down as she kept showering punch after punch on his face till it was swollen with bruises.

Gusion knew he had to do something if he was to survive this, so in a last attempt to defend himself, he picked up a handful of dirt and threw it at Hanabi’s face. This low key move disoriented her enough and Gusion was able to shove her off his body and gave him the much needed breather.

The girl in knight’s armour had really done a number on him as blood flowed freely down his mouth and nose. The pain he felt was tremendous, but the humiliation far outweighed his pain.

He was angry and wanted to get back at her. Gusion looked around the arena and finally found what he was looking for, his magic dagger lying discarded on the arena ground.

His ticket to victory.

Saya felt her heart sink when Gusion appeared with his dagger. And from what it seemed, he now had enough mana to cast one last spell. With an ugly snare, Gusion threw his magic infused dagger at the still disoriented Hanab and it was aimed straight for her heart.

“NEHA!” Saya couldn’t stop herself screamed out of fear for her human.

But luck seemed to really favour the ninja girl as because of Saya’s cry of concern, Hanabi jumped a bit in shock. A bit to the side, with the dagger missing her by just an inch.

Everyone’s eyes, especially Gusion’s became wide as dinner plates as they exclaimed, “Impossible!”

Impossible or not, Hanabi was still not out yet. And now that she had recovered from Gusion’s low key move, she looked at him with pissed eyes (even if it was hidden by her helmet).

A chill went down Gusion’s back when he saw the knight charging towards him. “S-Stay away from me!” he screams before turning tail and making a run for it. However, no matter how bulky it looked, Knight Amour didn’t hamper her movement and Hanabi was able to catch up with Gusion easily.

Upon reaching him, she held him firmly by the waist.

“This is for Gwen and Saya, you damned pretty boi.” Hanabi hissed audibly, making Gusion very-very shocked with her unmistakably female voice. Heaving him off his feet, Hanabi threw him back wards over her own body and ended the match with the most glorious suplex!

The young Paxley couldn’t with stand the impact and was immediately knocked out with his eyes swirling in a cartoonish manner.

“BY THE CELESTIALS, WE HAVE A WINNER! ALL HAIL SIR. THONIUS!!”

The crowd erupted in cheers at this. Everyone screamed at the top of their lungs and threw flowers into the arena; even the previous combatants were cheering who were just so happy to see the arrogant mage bite the dirt. They cheered her name over and over, “THONIUS! THONIUS!” and Hanabi basked in her glory by waving happily at the audience.

Guinevere was crying tears of joy at this absurd by wonderful victory while Lancelot and Odette smiled happily and congratulated their sister. As for Saya, she looked at her friend-student with her chest swelled with pride, “That’s my girl.”

\---X---

Hanabi hissed in pain as she slowly removed her amour pieces. She was back in the barracks and wanted to at least have her wounds dressed before failing gloriously in the last event of the tournament.

“Damn it hurts…” she curses to herself as she slowly pulls off her gantlets when suddenly the barrack door was opened once again. Hanabi was expecting either Saya or Guinevere, but the person who stood there was none.

It was rather a mysterious figure clad head to toe in a concealing robe. The person’s face hidden under the darkness of the hood and a huge covered article hanging by the back.

“I will take it from here.”……………….

(Sorry Gusion fans ;3)


	44. Not what was expected

Everyone awaited eagerly for Thonius to arrive and perform the final task and people had high hopes for their new champion. The task was simple, a white pigeon with a ring tied to its leg would be set free. Thonius will have to shoot it down with any weapon of choice and present the ring to Guinevere.

Easier said than done because along with that, a hundred more decoy pigeons would be set free as well, making the already hard task even harder and making it far easier for Hanabi to fail.

The crowd welcomed Thonius with cheers as 'he' re-entered the arena, His armour shining brightly in the sun as he strode gloriously towards the middle. A new addition to his attire however was the cloth wrapped article on his back, causing everyone to whisper among themselves curiously.

Even Guinevere was confused and looked towards her brother. Lancelot however had a sly smile on his face, the likes which usually meant that he was up to something and Gwen couldn't help but feel her stomach drop.

"Lance, what's going on?"

With a barely contained laughter, Lancelot smirks, "You'll see."

Guinevere really didn't like the sound of it and the way her brother put it, she was really starting to have doubts that whatever he was planning was good. She looked back into the arena and towards Hanabi. Perhaps it was her eyes playing tricks on her or whether she was just worrying too much but she could swear that Hanabi seemed to be a bit taller then she already was.

"Sorry I am late!" a voice suddenly called from behind. All the colour from her face drained when Guinever saw that it was none other than Hanabi who had just announced her presence.

"Welcome back!" Odette chirped happily as if this was nothing to worry about but Gwen was panicking like hell.

'If Hanabi was here? Then who is that!!' this thought was giving Guinevere a brain storm as she looked at Hanabi then back at the knight in the arena that was supposed to be Hanabi.

"And I brought a guest too!" declared Hanabi happily and leave the way to reveal her so called guest.

Her guest was an eight year old blond boy wearing an extravagant purple dress and an over sized trickster hat. A small sceptre in his posession which he twirled in his hand with a bored expression. "Seesh, you guys really need a bit more style here."

Recognising one of her juniors in the Lion Academy of Magic city, Guinevere was very vocal about her shock, "Harley? The Hell are you doing here??"

Harley walked towards them nonchalantly and spoke, "He sent for us." With that the kid pointed at Lancelot who flashed his charming smile, "I hope your journey was pleasant."

Harley scoffed at this, "Trust me; I have no interest in coming to this frozen wasteland. But as soon as 'she' got the invitation, she had been restless."

At the mention of 'her', Gwen halted. Pondering on his words before it finally dawned to her. "Wait......she is here?"

Lancelot face opened into a wide grin while Harley nodded with an annoyed huff.

As in queue, the cages of the pigeons were opened, releasing the birds within as they flew desperately towards their freedom after long hours of captivity.

In one smooth motion, Thonius reached for the article on the back, which revealed to be a sniper rifle without the cloth covering it, a rifle that Guinevere recognised instantly.

Thonius immediately aimed down the scope of the rifle and took aim. Although there were several pigeons in the air, the disguised knight was able to spot the white pigeon with the ring almost instantly. With skills never seen before, Thonius pulled the trigger, the gun shot echoing throughout the valley. The Black bullet soared and met it mark effortlessly. And to further compliment the knight's skill, the bullet actually just knocked the ring off the Bird's feet, causing it to fall right into the knight's gloved hands without harming the bird at all.

The crowd went wild at this display of skill and cheered.

"He did!!"

"That was unbelievable!"

Up in the Royal podium, Harley scoffed at this, "That was nothing. That was hardly even a challenge for her." while the others were gaping in awe at the surreal mastery over marksmanship. Guinevere however held her hands over her chest as her heart was beating over a thousand miles per hour. "You came..." she murmurs.

\---X---

The Royall family went to greet the champion of the tournament while the spectors cheered whilst showering flower petals at the soon to be engaged couple. Saya and Hanabi could barely contain their laugh because even from up the podium, they could see that Guinevere was red as a tomato and looked very shy as a maiden who was about to meet her knight in shining armour. (Saya and Hanabi are not accompanying the Royal family to the arena)

"Bravo! Bravo Sir. Thonius! You have bested all warriors and won the tournament. My sister's hands are now rightfully yours!" Lancelot declares. The knight kneels before them and presents the ring to Guinevere and damn it was a very romantic sight.

Gwen slowly stood before the knight and asked, "Please stand."

The knight seemed a bit surprised but did as told, abet a little hesitatingly. Gwen then came closer, causing the knight to back off a bit in fright but Gwen spoke softly, "No. No more hiding..."

Finally relaxing a bit, Guinevere closer towards the armoured figure. She reached up and slowly undid the straps that held the helmet on and slowly pulled it off, letting the long magenta hair of the person cascade down. The crowd gasped when the person beneath the helmet was in fact a woman. A beautiful woman with long magenta hair, blue eyes and an eye-patch over her right eye.

Hanabi's eyes widened at this and she exclaimed, "Wait, I know her! She is the Sniper Lesley Vance!"

Back in the arena below Lesley gave a cheeky smile and said coyly, "Told you, I would come."

Happy tears fell down her eyes and Guinevere hugged her, "You came! Oh my god you came!"

Letting out a small chuckle, the woman replied, "For you, princess. Anything."

Finally letting go, Lesley then again fell to her knee and presented the ring to Guinevere, "Guinevere Baroque, will you marry me?"

Overjoyed and eyes full of tears, Gwen hugged her while screaming yes over and over again. The sight was heart warming and the crowd cheered on their behalf, even if they both were women. But such things mattered not to Guinevere for right now, she felt like the happiest woman on the planet...........

(Why Guinevere x Lesley you say? Because I love Guinevere x Lesley) 


	45. What matters most

"You!!"

The tournament had been a success and the people were actually very happy for the newly engaged couple. The event was over so the royal family and guests went back to the castle to prepare themselves for the great ball that night. But as soon as they were out of prying eyes of the public, the first thing Guinevere did was strangle her brother.

"This was all your doing wasn't it?"

Lancelot's colour turned blue instantly as his supposedly sweet sister held him in a head lock with the intent to kill. With great effort he managed to squeak out for help and Lesley, taking pity on her soon to be brother –in-law, pulled Gwen away and calmed her down with a small kiss on her cheek. Effectively making Guinevere blush up storm, her anger forgotten for the while and sparing Lancelot form certain death.

"Aren't you happy that the plan worked and you got the girl you wanted?" Hanabi asked off handed, Making Guinevere very confused, "What plan?"

Realizing her blunder Hanabi bit her tongue while the rest face palmed, further solidifying Gwen's suspensions.

"Hanabi?" the violet clad girl pressed menacingly. Hanabi immediately hid behind Saya and pointed at Odette, "It was her idea!"

Now all the people looked upon Odette who let out a bright smile before she explained. "I knew that you were in love from the first time I looked into your eyes, so what better way to reunite you with your lover than this event?"

Lancelot then continued from where she had stopped, "I kinda always had a feeling that you had a certain interest in the fairer sex. You were my sister after all. It was simple really; you really thought your relation would be kept a secret from me?"

Then Hanabi added as well, "It was on a really short notice but Lancelot told me that he had sent out an invitation to Gwen's lover and that she would take some time to get here, so I had to stall the tournament at least till she got here. It was crazy, but I'm glad it worked."

Finally Harley added his own words, "And you have no idea what we had to go through to get here. We got the bloody invitation a day before the tournament to a kingdom on the other side of the Empire!" he then pointed at Lesley accusingly, "She freaking dragged me out of the bed to get here and it was midnight!!" At this Lesley chuckled bashfully while the others shared a small laugh.

However the temperature of the room dropped suddenly, causing everyone to stop.

"So.....you did all of this behind my back....and no one even told me?" Guinevere hissed with gritted teeth. Her magic flaring wildly and her eyes narrowed in rage. The occupants of the room started sweating vigorously because Guinevere was pissed as hell.

"Do you know that I nearly had a heart attack!!" Gwen screams and was about to strangle each and every one of them. However Odette suddenly pulled Guinevere and Hanabi away with her, "Oh look at the time! We need to get you two ready for the ball tonight!" With that the Swan Princess left with Gwen and Hanabi, probably sparing them form the beating they would likely get form the hot headed Baroque and leaving the room in an awkward silence.

"So.....what do you suppose we do?" asked Lesley to no one in particular.

Lancelot cleared his throat and replied, "What Sweet Odette says is true. We should get ready for the ball tonight." With that a few servants entered the room, ready to help them dress up their best for the ball.

"I hope you guys at least have some decent clothes." Grumbles Harley before following the servants.

\---X---

"Do you think she will like this outfit?" asked Guinevere nervously to Odette as she looked at herself in the mirror. She was now wearing a beautiful violet dress and to say that she looked gorgeous would be an understatement. Odette herself in a dark blue dress (Imagine Odette's Black Swan skin) said cheerfully, "Oh Nonsense! Lesley will love it because you look so beautiful!" she even shed some tears because she was so happy, causing both Gwen and Hanabi to sweat drop.

As for Hanabi herself, she was wearing a beautiful red Kimono.

The same one that she had seen in clothes store weeks ago and it fitted her perfectly. She had forgone her mask and her hair was tied up into a neat bun held together with a jewelled hair pin. Even she had to admit that she looked beautiful in it.

'What would Saya say about my dress?' this thought caused Hanabi to feel a bit fuzzy and warm inside her stomach but not a bad way. She smiled softly to herself, satisfied with her look. Unknown to her, Gwen and Odette were giggling mischievously to themselves, instantly recognising the eagerness in Hanabi's eyes.

Hanabi caught this as asked, "What?"

"Nothing." their answer, confusing Hanabi even more.

\---X---

It was night time by now and the Swan castle was livelier than it ever was because it was now hosting the biggest ball ever seen in the Kingdom.

People and guests were having a very good time, chatting and drinking the finest wine while a smooth orchestra was played in the back ground. People enjoying themselves, even the combatants who fought in the tournament against each other were having fun and toasting to their great fight.

When Odette, Guinevere and Hanabi entered the ball hall, the room bowed to the Princess of The Swan Kingdom. Odette waved them off with a smile and told them to enjoy the party.

Not even much time into the party and Guinevere was bombarded with attention. People introducing themselves and congratulating Gwen for her engagement. Let's just say it was overwhelming, especially for Hanabi.

The two friends chose to stick together as Odette was off to have conversation with the Nobles and Royalties of other kingdoms leaving them to fend for themselves.

"Is western parties always this crowded?" asked Hanabi to Guinevere.

Gwen shrugged and replied tiredly; "You get used to it." an idea Hanabi was not sure she would want to get used to.

"So, where is you fiancé?" asked Hanabi and wagged her brow. Still a bit embarrassed at the thought that now she was officially engaged, Guinevere blushed and stammered, "You don't have to rub that in!" to make her point clear, Gwen even punched Hanabi on the shoulder in a very un-lady like fashion. Let it be known that even if she was dresses good, Gwen was still Gwen.

Hanabi rubbed her sore shoulder. Even if she was now wearing good dress, the wounds under it still hurt but Hanabi was in no way gonna back down from teasing her friend.

"Say, you never told how you and Lesley met. What's your story?" asked Hanabi with a sly smile. Gwen turned an even brighten shade of red but did managed to answer her, "It's a story for another time."

**(If you guys are interested I am willing to write a separate stand alone Guinevere and Lesley story that covers how they met and fell and love with each other. Comment below if you wanna ;3)**

Suddenly the door on the other side of the Ball Hall opened and in came four figures. First was Lancelot, clad in a very extravagant red and gold suit (Imagine the Royal Matador skin) and looked quite handsome and charming in his own way. To his side was Harley wearing a miniature red suit (Imagine Royal Magister skin).

"You didn't have anything better than this?" the boy complains while fixing his hat and bow tie again and again. Lesley chuckled and encouraged him,"Oh you look great, Brother."

Harley blushed at this and mumbled, "Thanks. You too not bad sis." Lesley was wearing her own outfit (The royal musketeer skin but without the hat) her magenta hair tied in a tight bun, giving her a rather tomboyish look but damn she was an exquisite mixture of angelic beauty and devilishly handsome. Hanabi could even see some drool threatening to fall off the side of Guinevere mouth.

Then Hanabi's eyes fell upon the last person in the group. Clad in red and golden sari, a very uncommon and exquisite choice of Wardrobe, she was indeed a sight to be seen. Her wavy forest locks cascaded down her shoulders, framing her face perfectly, her head held high, she walked into the ball hall with an aura worthy of royalty.

She looked so gorgeous that Hanabi had no idea that she had been ogling at her teacher all this while just like the others in the hall, causing her to feel very ashamed when Gwen shook her out of her trench.

The Hall had been very silent upon their arrival, so being the outgoing person he was Harley was the first to break the silence, "Fear not, for I, Harley Vance have arrived! Now, Bring out the magic feast!" with that he made a few fireworks go off behind him using his magic, causing the guests to clap and cheer at the splendid performance.

The first thing Guinevere did was make her way towards Lesley, effectively leaving Hanabi all alone in the crowd.

Feeling very self-conscious to be left alone with strangers, Hanabi did the only thing she thought was for the best, find Saya as soon as possible.

She would've done that had not suddenly a huge figure stood before her.

\---X---

People watched in awe as Saya strode through the hall, the crowd giving her way as the empress walked by.

"It's her!"

"The Saviour of Mosseina..."

They whispered amongst themselves as she passed by. Saya had no idea her reputation would have so far reaching impact. So she just smiled at them kindly, all the while she was searching for a certain kunoichi.

"The Saviour of Mossenia herself..." a voice calls through the crowd. Soon a man emerged from it and turns out that it was Gusion himself. He looked up at the Sai'oren woman and said coolly, "We meet at last."

\---X---

Hanabi looked at the man before her and the first thing she noticed was the fact that even in a Ball, his attire would make it so that he was going to a battle. Donning very high quality samurai armour, the likes worn only by shoguns. He looked upon her and spoke in Japanese, "Ah, it warms my heart to see that even in such far off west that I am blessed to see a one of my kin. I am Hyuudai Kamamoto, The Oni. Shogun of the Oniryuku Clan. Who are you young one?"

(The Oni is an OC of my good friend Waltkins Linggie who insisted that I put him in the story)

The Kunoichi immediately bowed in respect and introduced herself, "Hanabi no Iga, Oni-sama."

The Shogun rubs his masked chin and think, "Ah, the famed village of the Shinobi, you are indeed very far away from home. But your skills are impressive, especially the ones you demonstrated today in the arena."

His words causing alarms to flare within Hanabi's mind.

'No no no, how could he have possibly known!!'

Fearfully Hanabi stammers back, "I don't know what you are talking about, Oni-Sama."

The Shogun laughed at this, "No need to lie to me, Girl. I know it was you who impersonated as Sir. Thonius in the Tournament and I must say, that style was not any sort of Jujutsu that I have ever seen." He praises.

With a new wave of pride swelling inside her, Hanabi answered, "My friend, Saya. She taught me the way of the Hrontree'haare."

The Oni nodded, "Ahh, an exquisite form of martial arts. Perhaps one day we can learn from each other, seeing that how you bested one of my most elite warriors today."

Hanabi was a bit confused at this but then a young man wearing a male kimono came forth and greeted her, "Hello, Hanabi-san."

The Kunoichi was confused at first but then she realized that the young man was none other than the samurai she defeated in the first round. Awkwardly Hanabi greeted back as well, still not sure how to act with a man she had defeated this morning, but the Samurai was actually very friendly, "Today I learned a very important lesson that I will never forget in my life and for that you have my thanks, Hanabi-san. I hope we can spar again sometimes." He says respectfully. Hanabi let out a small smile and returned his respect as well. She felt good to be acknowledged for her achievements.

"I should leave then, I'm sure the other would want to meet you as well." was Oni's last words before disappearing into the crowd. Soon another hoard of people came towards Hanabi, which she later recognised to be her former opponents and competitors.

\---X---

Saya and Gusion shared drink together as the people went about their own business in the party. They drank in silence for a while before Gusion spoke first, "You own me a fight."

The Sai'ore kept drinking before answering the boi, "No, I don't think so. If I recall, you had to win the last match, which if I recall correctly, you lost."

Gusion glared at her at this and hissed, "That was just a folly. Thonius got lucky."

"Rules are rules, Mr. Paxley." Replied Saya nonchalantly, causing Gusion to scoff, "Rules will just hold you back."

His words, obviously fuelled by pride and temper, Saya shook her head, "Tell me, Mr. Paxley. Why do you want to fight me so much?"

"To prove that I am better." Was his simple answer.

Saya looked at the young man in his eyes that held anger and pride. Mixed with a hunger to prove himself and aside from that, she something else too, Desperation.

"You miss them don't you..... You miss your family."

Her words stunning Gusion to his core. It was very quick to offend him because he glared at her and hissed, "You know nothing!"

The Tall woman didn't flinch at his outburst and spoke calmly, "Denying doesn't mean that something is not true, Mr. Paxley."

Gusion gritted his teeth angrily at this but then again, deep down he knew that she was right. That deep down, he knew that he really missed his family. This realization calmed him down. But now his once angry tone turned to a one of sadness, "I cannot return. They cannot change, they will not change. If they don't accept me for who I am, then I will forge my own path."

Saya nodded in understanding at this, glad that the boy was able to put that off his shoulder. Still a question remained, "How will you do that?"

Her question, making Gusion speechless. He finally admitted, "I don't know. I don't see how.... Perhaps you could tell me?"

Now it was Saya's turn to be speechless because she didn't expect that Gusion would ask her of all about this. Yet he did and now he was looking at her expectantly.

After a lot of thought, Saya says at last, "Perhaps, you should go back."

Her advice causing Gusion to scoff, "I think you didn't hear me right, I cannot go back. They will not change..."

"How do you know, if you are willing to abandon them so quickly?" her words causing Gusion's eyes to go wide with shock.

Staring off to a distance Saya spoke further, "If anything, people are like stones. They are hardy and rigid, refusing to change and adapt a new shape in fear of crumbling to dust. That's why they fear that that they don't know, that that can bring about change. Yet it was outward force of chisel that shapes a stone into a sculpture. But it takes hard work and patients to do so." She then turns towards the Boi and put her hand on his shoulder, telling him softly, "No matter what, they are your family. They need you.... And you need them."

The Young Paxley listened to her words of wisdom and pondered on it, the more he pondered, the more he understood. Finally he let out a sigh and nodded slowly, "Maybe you're right."

Saya smiled at this and gave him one last pat on his shoulder before taking her leave. However before going, Gusion did add another, "I still wanna fight you though. But next time, I will be a changed man." the young Paxley declares with determination. Saya smiled at this and nodded, "I will await your arrival."

\---X---

Through the sea of countless faces, Saya searched for her human. Hanabi was quite tall for her age but still not tall enough to stick out in the crowd. She was about to call out for her but stopped when she heard her human's sweet laughter go throughout the hall.

It seems the combatants of the Tournament had found out her little secret and where now haveing a conversation with her and by the looks of it, Hanabi was really enjoying her time amongst her fellow warriors. Sharing tips and suggestions, life stories over a glass of wine or ale. Hanabi was really having fun because the fighters really respected her for the bravery and skills she showed today.

Hanabi was never the one to be socially interactive and she was not even used to the praises that she was receiving but Saya was really glad to see that now people were starting to appreciate her. Hanabi had worked very hard to reach where she had come and deserved every ounce of compliments she was getting.

Saya looked at her with a smile from a far, watching with a pride and contentment. Seeing her human smile and happy like this made Saya happy as well.

"Ah, there you are!" Lancelot exclaims and approaches Saya, "I hope the party is to your liking." He asks with a charming smile. The tall Sai'ore smiles politely and replies, "Very well done indeed, Sir. Lancelot. You really out did your selves."

"Oh no need for that entire 'Sir' crap. Just call me Lancelot. You and Hanabi had done enough for us to be considered as friends." Lancelot says sincerely and Saya nodded with a smile. Absent mindedly, Saya's gaze went back towards the young ninja girl who was having a good time with her new friends. Her gaze turning into a longing one, something Lancelot was very quick to pick up.

When Saya caught Lancelot looking at her with a wide smile, she questioned, "What?"

"My my, who would've thought that the Saviour of Mossenia's heart has been conquered!"

His words causing Saya to blush deeply, which was more visible due to her snow white skin. She had an idea what he was implying but still played dumb in hopes of driving him off, "I don't know what you are talking about..."

Her answer causing Lancelot to laugh even more, "Save your breath, Saya. I know the looks of someone in love and you, my lady, are madly in love!"

Saya couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up as she felt like a deer caught in the spot light. She was unable to come up with any witty defence and all she could utter was gibberish. However Lancelot would have none of it, "Go talk to her! As her out! The dance is about to start!"

"Huh, dance?"

Before Saya could process all these, Lancelot ushered her towards the direction of Hanabi.

"Good luck!"

\---X---

Hanabi laughed merrily as Lord. Iron Heart told them about his various endeavours throughout his life time.

"You know, it's good that you taught that Pretty boy a lesson." The large man laughs, "I would've taught him myself, but the coward hides behind his magic. His pride was his own undoing." The rest agreed with him and cheered at Hanabi's daring victory.

Out of the Blue, Saya stumbled into the group through the crowd, her presence awing the group.

"It's you! The Saviour of Mossenia!"

"Your reputation precedes you, Milady."

Let's just say that Saya had fans here as well. The tall woman politely excused herself and went towards her primary object of affection. Now standing before Hanabi, Saya found herself speechless, partially because she hadn't planned this through at all and mostly because she realized just how adorable Hanabi looked in that Kimono. Same could be said for Hanabi because seeing Saya up close in her graceful Sari; the ninja girl could feel butterflies dancing in her stomach.

Clearing her throat, Saya spoke nervously, "You look good."

Hanabi smiled at the compliment and replied shyly, "You look good too."

However this was all they had for each other and now they find themselves without any words to say. Suddenly as in queue, loud music started playing and it was very melodious and beautiful.

It was time for the dance that Lancelot had warned Saya about. People chose their partners and were already dancing happily with their partners held close to each other.

Lancelot was with Odette, while Lesley and Gwen danced in the middle, causing all the onlookers to look at them in awe and wonder, admiring the love that they shared for each other. As for the two, Gwen and Lesley seemed totally at bliss and in each other's arms; they didn't had a care of the word.

Saya looked towards Hanabi and extended her hand, with a smile she asks, "Can have this dance?"

The Human girl blushed at this and looked away, "I don't know how to dance..."

Saya smiled at this, "Neither do I, how about we take this to a more private place?" Hanabi returned that smile and took the woman's hand.

She led them away from prying eyes and towards the balcony from which they could see a breathtaking view of the kingdom from the castle. The Festival was at peak and common people were dancing in their own merry song as well. Fireworks filled the night sky as the two watched in each other's company.

Hanabi then looked towards Saya, finding the pale glow over her skin due to the moon and the fireworks to be very beautiful. Saya caught her staring and felt her cheeks heat up even more. Shyly she tucked a bang of hair behind her ear and asked, "So about the dance..."

The young kunoichi laughed at this, "Okay sensei, How about we learn together?"

Saya nodded and followed Hanabi's lead. The tall woman put her hand on Hanabi's shoulder, while the human gently put her hand over Saya's waist, just like they had seen Lesley do to Guinevere. Inside, the party was in full swing with people enjoying themselves.

But them two were having their own little fun. Away from the eyes of the public, they were allowed to dance as they pleased as they both had little experience with Western dancing but that didn't mean they didn't had fun trying, enjoying the intimacy the dance offered.

Soon the two found themselves very close to each other with Saya wrapping her arms around Hanabi affectionately. All the while Saya looked upon Hanabi lovingly. She absolutely adored her, her smile, her laugh, her everything. Perhaps Lancelot was right after all. Maybe she was madly in love.

The party went on all night and it was a night that would be remembered by all.............

(Thank you all for reading my story till now. I have an announcement though. My exams are coming so I will not post new chapters till it's over. Probably till January 2020. But I have no intension of abandoning this story so don't worry. Thank you for your support and patients) 


	46. The Enchanting Meadow

To say that Thamuz's death caused an uproar in the Abyssal faction would be an understatement. With one of their most powerful warrior defeated, the Forces of Abyss were now in a state of turmoil. Some were fearful of this new warrior who had bested the Lava Lord, while some were still demanding for the blood of the one now titled 'The Slayer of Lava Lord', but it was very clear that the new development had affected everyone and all were very passionate and expressive about it.

"This is outrageous! A xeno kills one of our most important figure and we all are doing is just arguing about it while the murderer goes unpunished!" a fire demon, who was now the representative of all the fire demons after Thamuz's untimely 'retirement', roared heatedly.

The meeting they were having was conducted right after The Queen of Apocalypse Alice had arrived; bring with her the devastating news of Thamuz's demise.

His supporters voiced their approval with a generous amount of zeal, all wanting to bring their so called 'justice' upon the wrong that had been done to their lord. However, not all were in favour of this as one of the Elder Blood Demon of the council was quick to place his own argument, "You have seen what has happened, Lord Thamuz was one of the most powerful of warriors of our fold, and yet he was defeated. If he didn't stand a chance, then how do you even hope to hold a candle against such a powerful foe?"

His words sounded like sprinkles of salt over the already throbbing wound, yet he met with no counter as because what he said was true.

"That might be true," Says another Abyssal Demon of the Council, his voice deep and low, "We are not strong enough to defeat this powerful foe, But I know who is."

The more the demons pondered upon his words, the more they understood. Uttering a gasp of awe, they exclaim, "Are you saying that we seek out ' **HIS'** help?"

A sinister grin spread across his face as he acknowledged them, "Yes indeed."

Alice felt a chill go down her back when she hears of this. The one they talk of was indeed a very powerful entity, a creature whose sole purpose is to reap and destroy; a power-hungry creature of darkness that stalks its prey in the black of night. The Fallen protector. The Night stalker.

Now she was fearful because this particular figure was perhaps the very best of the Abyss and she doubt even Saya's immortality could save her when the one they speak of was immortal himself.

The council members were quick to agree to this master plan and all the while throughout the conversation; Selena had been watching over Alice and was quick to notice the woman's distress over this subject. Smirking mischievously, she asks all of a sudden, "What's the matter, Dear Alice? Are you not happy with the idea?"

Her words labelling Alice immediately as the centre of attention as the entire council now looked towards her, awaiting her response. Knowing fully well what would happen if she was to give away her true feelings, Alice masked her distress with a veil of annoyance. With a scornful voice, she speaks loudly, "I cannot believe that we have sunken so low that we engage ourselves in such trivial matters instead of following our real goal."

Her words had the desired effect as the mass was not busy pondering on her new argument and forgot about her previous distress. However, the current leader of the Fire Demons didn't take this well and reacted heatedly, "Trivial matters?? Our leader was murdered! The strongest of us all!"

'As hot headed as the previous leader.' Alice mentally groaned to herself. She will have to place a good argument before the council erupts into an all out brawl, so slyly Alice retorted, "Well, had he been the strongest, he would not have been defeated. Was it not what you fire demons live by? 'Only the strong deserves to live.'....... You are strong, that is the reason why you lead and personally, I always believed that you would be a better leader that Thamuz." A bit of smooth words and a pinch of compliment was enough to make the Fire Demon swell in pride and stay quite without any further argument. In fact, he was even willing to take her side now.

"The Queen of Apocalypse is right..." he says, "We have already wasted enough men and resources over this wild goose chase. It's time that we prioritize our real goal."

Alice giggled internally, finding it funny how easy it is to manipulate these Fire Demons.

With the most outspoken person in the favour of a revenge strike now neutralized, it didn't take long for the others to follow suit as well. They really had more pressing matters to accomplish, a bigger plan that they had in store for the Land of Dawn and they couldn't afford to be distracted by these small matters.

After yet another long discussion, the council came to an agreement, "The threat of Xeno is perceived to be big but not big enough to halt our main operation. Our primary target right now is the Elven Kingdom of Moniya...."

The Meeting was dismissed and the Elders and leaders of the demon tribes left the Council Chamber. Alice was the last to leave but was very surprised to see that Selena had been standing just outside beside the wall and from the looks of it; she had been waiting for Alice, something the blood demon Queen didn't wanted to deal with right now.

Especially with the looks the Abyssal Witch had been giving her. It meant she was up to something that was no good.

Minding her own business, Alice went back towards her own chambers, or she would have had Selena not blocked her path. Annoyed by this intrusion, Alice grumbles, "What do you want?" her voice clearly showing the extent of her displeasure but this only made Selena even more giddy.

"Oh, But Alice, You are not acting yourself lately. I am worried about you!" she says in fake concern, making Alice even more annoyed then before. Pushing past her Alice stomped away but halted when Selena let out a loud giggle, "You know, I really want to meet this Xeno of yours if she has such effects on you." Her sickly sweet voice not hiding the venomous malice underneath it and it was really making Alice angry, "I would like to hear how she squeals when I turn her to shreds..."

Alice had no idea what came over her but Selena's words ignited such strong emotions in her that she couldn't stop herself. Even the Abyssal Witch herself was surprised when Alice suddenly turned towards her with furiosity never seen in Alice ever before. Gone was Alice's fear towards her as the Blood Demon Queen's was body was practically shaking with the uncontrollable rage that she was feeling right now. Alice knew not where this new found power and courage came from, nor did she care at the moment. She looked at Selena dead in the eyes and hissed lowly, "Touch a hair on her and even the Abyssal Lord won't be able to save you."

Selena stood aghast at this. She could see it in Alice's eyes that she was not bluffing, the Queen of Apocalypse was really angry, more than ever and she couldn't help but back down, even if in her mind, she knew that she, the favoured of the Abyss, was supposed to be stronger than Alice.

"We have more trivial works to do. Let's not let our personal feud get between the will of the Abyss." With that, Alice felt Selena to her own and she couldn't help but wonder, 'Just what happened between the two of them?'

\---X---

"Do you have to go so soon?" whined Guinevere. As for why she was in a bad mood, the answer was simple. After helping the Younger baroque to be engaged with the girl of her dreams, the very next day, Saya and Hanabi were getting ready to leave the city. As we speak, the Sai'ore and the ninja girl had already packed their stuffs and were ready to depart. That was until they were intercepted by the Gwen, her brother and Odette along with her guards who were escorting her.

"Well, our work here is done and we really need to get going. Saya said that she has more training to help me get better." Answered Hanabi to her friend with a sheepish smile. Guinevere didn't seemed impressed by this and tried to argue further and it took quite a lot of consolidation to calm her down because she really didn't wanted her friend to leave just yet.

Finally when she was provided with enough reasons to keep her from arguing further, Guinevere agreed, "Fine, go! See if I care!" abet very grumpily.

Hanabi chuckled and gave Guinevere one last goodbye hug and it didn't take long for the young maiden in violet to give in and hug her back. "I will miss you." Guinevere whispered softly, trying her best not to breakdown. Hanabi smiled at this and replied with a wide grin, "Don't worry, I'll be back for a visit. Plus we still have a score to settle. And this time, I am winning!"

Not the one to back down so easily, Guinevere gave a grin of her own, "Oh, I would like to see you try!"

The two bickered back and forth for a while, throwing light hearted insults towards each other, a strange friendship indeed.

While they were at it, Lancelot and Odette were engaged in a more mature conversation with Saya, where the two royalties were expressing their gratitude to the Saviour of Mossenia.

"We thank you for the deeds that you have done for our kingdom, Lady Saya." the Two says sincerely, making Saya smile and speak modestly, "Please, no need to thank me. If fact I should be thankful to you, the supplies that you provided for us will be of upmost value in our journey." She wasn't lying as now the travelling duo were packed with necessarily supplies from potions, food, clothes and equipments that they needed, courtesy of Odette who had been very generous to provide her with them.

"Still, we are thankful. You have no idea how much weight your name has, Ms.Saya. The only reason all the guests even arrived was because you were here. You are practically a legend in the Empire!" Odette exclaims enthusiastically, making Saya even more bashful, "You honour me, Princess."

Hanabi and Guinevere, their 'argument' now resolved, came over as well. With the every bright smile on her face, Hanabi chirped, "Let's go!" to which Saya agreed.

As they were going by, Guinevere suddenly confronted Saya, much to her shock as the young Baroque rarely interacted with her. "Yes?" Saya asked patiently as the young human fidgeted for a while before speaking aloud, "Take good care of her for me." Gwen says mentioning Hanabi.

Saya smiled gently at this and gave a nod, "I will."

Suddenly however, Guinevere smirked mischievously, "You know, you shouldn't hide your true feelings for her." Her words making Saya blush brightly, knowing very well what the human was implying. Still, Saya played dumb and tried to evade the situation, "I-I don't know what y-you're talking about."

Seeing a figure such as her stammer like a girl in love was hilarious and Guinevere giggled uncontrollably, "Oh my God, this is too good!"

After calming down however, Guinevere says with a warm smile, "We all deserve to be happy. Tell her when there is still time and I hope that you two will find happiness too!" with that she went back into the city, leaving Saya to ponder on Gwen's words.

"Time?" the tall Sai'ore says to herself. Wondering why was it that she was getting a certain strain in her chest upon hearing this word.

"Saya-chan! Let's go!" Hanabi calls from a distance, waving at her with a wide smile. Saya shook her head and waved back, slowly making her way towards her human.

\---X---

_Yet again Saya finds herself surrounded by darkness, making her ponder on what sort of visions will be shown to her this time. As expected, a voice calls in the black void, "Saya-chan!"_

_The Sai'ore turned towards the voice, ready for a fight if the situation calls for it. But Saya let her guard down when she realized that it was none other than Hanabi._

_There she stood, with an ever present smile on her face. However, Saya noticed that something was different. This Hanabi was different._

_She looked older and in her peak physic. She was beautiful, no longer just a young teenage who was just entering her twenties but had now turned into a strong and beautiful woman. Truly a bloomed flower._

_"Saya-chan!" she calls, her age never affecting her demeanour as she still seemed to be that happy and cheerful girl that Saya knew her to be. Saya couldn't help but smile and open her arms for her, "I am here, Meha Neha."_

_On seeing this, Hanabi smiled blindingly and ran towards Saya, her face glowing with joy as she made her way closer towards her so that Saya can wrap her precious human in a loving embrace._

_Patiently Saya waited, watching Hanabi take steps towards her, yet for some reasons the distance between them didn't seem to minimize. Then yet another miracle happened. With each step Hanabi took, she seemed to get older. This may not seen so trivial to most, but for Saya, it was a very terrifying sight._

_Each step Hanabi took was like her skipping her entire year. And with every year that passed, her body changed. Her raven hair gradually turned grey, her smooth skin, slowly wrinkled and her posture slowly slouched downward. Before Saya's very eyes Hanabi was now old and withered, while she herself, was as she had always been._

_Now old and wrinkled, Hanabi looked very different and miserable, yet still he held the bright smile. "Saya-chan." She says in a low raspy voice. Weakly she was about to take another step, but Saya stopped her. Hugging her frail body with her still strong arms, Saya pleads, "No, please. Don't..." her eyes filled with tears, begging Hanabi to not take another step._

_However, this was not to be. Hanabi let out a sad smile, "I am sorry, Saya-chan. My time is over..." these were her last words before the light in her eyes faded. The pain she felt was unbearable, Saya held on to Hanabi and wept on till she was but dust, yet Saya kept living on, as she had always did._

\---X---

Saya woke up from her yet another terrifying vision. And if she dare say, the most terrifying dream yet. She looks around, seeing that she had been sleeping along with Hanabi and Nhari in their camp after travelling all day.

The Tall Sai'ore looked over her human, still sleeping peacefully, oblivious of the distress Saya was going through right now.

With the dream poisoning her mind, sleep didn't come to Saya anymore.

\---X---

The dream she had yesterday was just like one of the many torturous visions she would occasionally get. By now Saya was used to it and had been able to forget it by the morning, yet this one was a bit different. Different so because it made Saya realize something, it made her relearn what she had almost forgotten.

"I think we are getting close, its warmer here!" calls Hanabi for ahead if her, energetic as ever, she was the one who had been running off ahead and even Saya had trouble keeping up with her at times. The ever present smile on her face made Saya give her own smile as well.

Oh, how she adored her little human. How happy and proud she felt to see that her human was getting better, stronger and ever beaming with joy, and all Saya hoped was that she at least had a small part in it. She looks over to Hanabi, pondering over how far she had come, changing from a shy girl to a cheerful and bold girl. Saya could see it; her human had progressed, her human was growing. She couldn't be prouder, yet it was a bitter-sweet victory, for Saya now remembers something.

"What's wrong Saya-chan, you seem worried?"

It took a moment for Saya to realize that Hanabi had noticed her distress and was already before her with a worried question. Knowing that she probably shouldn't bother Hanabi with her problems, Saya fakes with haste, "Nothing. I was just wondering what should we have for dinner."

Believe it or not, the day since Hanabi had been training under Saya's thoroughly physical trainings, she had developed a very healthy appetite worthy of all the hard work she would do and one thing Hanabi absolutely loved was Saya's cooking.

"How about vegetable stew? Haven't had that in ages!" she exclaims in excitement, causing Saya to let out a giggle at her student's energy. She had grown indeed. Although nearly 6 months had passed since they first met on that fateful day in Goblin forest, Saya remembers it like if it was but yesterday. Time flows fast, especially for her and that was the matter which worried her the most.

The Tall woman looks upon Hanabi once more; she had changed a lot, not just mentally, but physically as well. While she herself, was just the same. Unchanging and unwavering.

This was the reason why the dream had affected her so much, the reason was because it made Saya realize the truth once more. Hanabi was a mortal, she was an immortal.

She was eternal, her human was not. She would walk the face of existence for eternity, her most precious will not. Hanabi will one day return to the dust from whence she came, while Saya will not. She will have to see her grow old and eventually die, just like her own mortal children, her children's children, and their children as well. She will be left all alone in this foreign world with none to call her own, just like how it had happened so many countless times before.

"Oh my God!" Saya heard Hanabi yell all of a sudden, causing alarms to ring within Saya. Immediately she bolted towards the ninja girl with Nhari right behind her. "What's wrong, Neha? Are you hurt?" she asked in worry, but Hanabi looked towards her with sparkling eyes and exclaimed, "Look!" she points forward, what Saya saw in that direction made her gasp in awe.

Before them, just before the boarder of the Magical forest of the Elves, there laid a massive meadow. With a small stream passing through it, the entire landscape was covered with soft grass and a blanket of rainbow flowers. It was a heavenly sight, one that Saya had not seen in a very-very long time.

"Akambane...." She mutters breathlessly as the sight before her totally awed her. Hanabi squeaked and ran forward towards the grassland, laughing like a wee little girl all the way. "Wooohooo!"

Seeing this, Saya shook her head with a chuckle. To her surprise, Nhari nudged her with her nose and looked at the Sai'ore expectantly. "You wanna run too?"

The old mare nodded eagerly and Saya was more than happy to oblige. She removed the load and saddle from Nahri's back and undid her reins as well. Now free from her confines, Nhari let out a loud neigh by standing on her hind limbs and galloped across the flower field.

Saya laughed and followed those two children before they went too far away, dragging their loads behind her all the way. Reaching a huge tree at the middle of the meadow and she settled there. Arranging the items as it is supposed to be, Saya then sat down and looked towards Hanabi and Nhari, as the two played and raced across the field happily without a care of the world. Saya let them have their fun as she understood how much they had been through in all of their adventures and needed some breaks like these now and then.

As for Saya? she was happy just sitting down on the soft grass and look at those beautiful flowers. Red, yellow, blue, pink, as if the entire rainbow had poured all of its colour down on to this very place and gave birth to all these pretty flowers. Saya remembers how long ago before the days of eternal winter, her world had such meadows as well. It was so long ago that Saya barely remembers it and she could bet that it wasn't as beautiful as this.

Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, Saya plucked a few flowers. They were small and soft, but their stalk was flexible, much like the ones that once dotted her world. Involuntarily, she interlocked their stalks and started knitting them together as a garland. Saya remembers doing this countless times in her past. She remembers making these for her children and grandchildren in the Age immemorial. It brought up so many memories, both sweet and bitter.

"I didn't know that you made so beautiful flower garlands!" Saya was brought out of her thoughts by Hanabi, who was looked at the garland she was making with stars in her eyes. The older woman smiled and draped the garland over Hanabi's shoulder, "Live as long as me and you can't help but pick up a thing or two." Hanabi looked at her garland and squeaked excitedly, "This is so beautiful! Wait, I will make a flower crown to go with it!" With that, Hanabi starts to pluck a few flowers herself.

Saya merely chuckled at this and started knitting another garland, all the while watching over Hanabi as she made her own flower crow with upmost care and attention. She looked adorable.

It reminded Saya of the time she had spent with her children. Those fond and happy memories, it filled Saya with warmth and happiness, yet it made her feel bitter and sad as well. And now that she thinks about it, one day, Hanabi would be a memory as well.

This was her curse, the curse of Immortality. The curse that she was destined to bear eternally, to watch her loved ones fade away in the currents of time as she lived on long after they are dust.

All these thoughts made Saya question herself,

What was she doing?

She was getting too attached.

This would not end well.

It always ends with unbearable pain.

Maybe this was all a mistake, she shouldn't have come with her.

Perhaps she should leave before it's too late....

"Saya-chan, Look!" Hanabi called, her voice filled with childish glee as she beckoned Saya to come towards her. Her previous thoughts were pushed aside for now, and Saya walked towards her, curious as to what had really jogged Hanabi's attention so much that she immediately called for her.

"What is it, Hana?" she asked. Hanabi answered her by pointing forward, especially towards a small burrow, hidden by a bush.

There by the hole in the ground, sat four creatures. Tiny in size, covered in fluffy white fur, its bright red eyes darting everywhere while its long ears twitched with every sound it heard. Saya had heard of these animals before in her stay in this new world. Rabbits they were called, if her memory serves her right.

If she was honest, Saya would agree that the tiny creature was quite adorable, but she was really surprised how the presence of that creature deeply affected her human. Hanabi was practically fawning over the little creatures.

"They are so cute!" she mutters breathlessly as she looked at those rabbits with longing eyes.

Putting two and two together, Saya had a vague idea what her human wanted so she asked, "So.....what do these rabbits like to eat?"

Confused by the sudden question Hanabi answered with visible confusion, "Carrots, I guess."

Saya nodded and went back towards their supplies. Soon she returned with a small sack full of carrots, much to Hanabi's confusion.

"Stay quiet." Saya whispered and slowly crept towards the rabbits. As expected the rabbits were fast to bolt towards their hole, but when Saya slowly offered a carrot, the rabbits did halted a bit and sniffed it from afar.

Hanabi watched with hitched breath as the rabbits sniffed at the direction of the carrot, while Saya remained dead still. And much to Hanabi's delight, one of them slowly crept towards the carrot.

The brave little creature slowly came towards Saya and it was rewarded for its efforts with the carrot that Saya had been holding. With a victorious smile, Saya gently petted the rabbit, who surprisingly didn't mind the foreign contact as it nibbled on to the carrot without a care.

The Ninja girl slowly crept closer towards Saya and their new friend and cooed, "Look how cute he is!" Saya chuckled and gave another carrot to Hanabi, "Here, why don't you try?"

Eagerly, she took the root vegetable and did as Saya had done. The Rabbits, now much more confident that the two were not a threat, were quick to come out and now Hanabi found herself surrounded by bunnies. She let out a delightful squeak petted them happily. "I can't resist cute stuffs at all!"

Seeing her human enjoying herself in such an adorable situation, the ancient Sai'ore couldn't help but let out a fond smile. Seeing Hanabi with a bright and innocent smile with a beautiful flower crown and garland, surrounded by several adorable rabbits, this was a sight that Saya would come to cherish the most. It would be a reminder for her why was it that she loved Hanabi so much. That why she was the most important person in her life.

"Oh, I nearly forgot," Hanabi says coming over to Saya, much to her surprise. "I had made one for you too." With that, Hanabi put another flower crown upon the older woman's head. "Now you look even more beautiful!" she says with a wide grin, making Saya's cheeks gain a rosy tint instantly.

Hanabi smiled once more. The sweet smile that she loved so much; it was enough to convince Saya.

Due to her lack of response, Hanabi asked with a frown, "Are you alright, Saya-chan?"

Without a warning, Saya wrapped Hanabi in an embrace, shocking Hanabi but soon she returned the hug happily. All Saya wanted to do now was to protect and cherish this girl. She was far too important for her and she wanted to tell her just how much she cared for her. She meant worlds to her, thus no matter what happens. Even if time would one day turn her precious human to dust, she would be there for her and would cherish their memories till the end of times.

Drawing a deep breath Saya replies sincerely and passionately, "Never better, meha Jai."...............

('Meha Jai' is the Sai'oren terminology that is used to address a person who is held at the pinnacle of affection by the speaker. It translates to 'My Life', so basically Saya is referring Hanabi to be her entire life and being)


	47. Forest of the Elves

While the experience in the meadow was relaxing for them, the company knew that they couldn't stay there forever. After spending a day or two in the heavenly grounds, the group unwillingly packed their belongings and were ready to leave the area to carry on with their journey.

Hanabi was the most reluctant to leave, having been fast friend with those rabbits of the meadow, who she had characteristically named 'Shiro' according to their colour. She really didn't want to leave her fluffy friends. Hanabi even proposed that they should take the entire nest along with them, which was impossible at the moment. So after a lot of reasoning and promises to come visit them again, Hanabi finally agreed to let go of her outrageous demand.

With everything set and done, the group slowly made their way towards their next destination.

Saya gave a last look towards the meadow, taking in its beauty one more time before they would leave for a long time. She wasn't lying when she promised that they would come to visit again. That place was not in any map so it was most likely that they were the first people to discover that meadow so in a way, it was their own personal little paradise. Perhaps when this was all over, Saya would return back here. She had seen several excellent spots to make a decent house. Maybe Hanabi would come with her as well. It would be their own little world, away from the worries and cares of the rest of the world.

The thought really made Saya smile to herself, she would ask for nothing more than that if she would get Hanabi's company, no matter how short it may be to her. This now lead to another matter at hand.

They had known each other for a while now, and truthfully, Saya and Hanabi had grown very close to each other. However, Saya felt that now, her feelings went deeper than just friendship. She looks upon her human and could feel the warmth flutter in her being, she confesses to herself. She really loved Hanabi of Iga.

Love was something that was not a foreign concept for Saya, it's just that she had been too scared to open up to someone else for a very long time, yet she hadn't forgotten the feeling of it.

Hanabi was now the only person in the entirely of existence that she could call a family, she was the very reason she had to keep on going, the small ray of light in her otherwise dark and blighted world. She was her anchor, her purpose, her life. Such were Saya's sincere feelings towards her friend/student and she thinks to herself, perhaps she should tell her how she feels.

The thought caused butterflies to flutter within her stomach as Saya felt very giddy like a small girl but she was very shy about her feelings as well. In all her years, Saya wasn't exactly a very forward person when it came to romance, tending to be very reserved and bashful in her dealing with it because she would get so nervous and shy. So she decided that maybe she was not ready to confess to Hanabi just yet. A part of her was urging her to do it right here right now before it's too late.

So engrossed she was in her thoughts that she nearly missed the part when they entered a huge forest. The moment they entered the forest, the first thing Saya noticed was how the view changed drastically.

The huge trees reached about sixty meters in height with its dense canopy entirely blocking out the sunlight from above, large entangled root systems formed an intricate network on the forest floor, making it look like as if it was some sort of maze. The ground was filled grass, ferns and mushrooms of varying shapes and sizes giving the forest a strange supernatural aura.

"I have only but heard stories of this place. We are in the Magical forest of the Elven Kingdom of Moniya." Hanabi mutters breathlessly as she took in the majestic sight of the forest with awe.

Saya soaked up this information with a slow nod, "So, we have finally arrived the homeland of the Elves. The race with which the Humans constantly confuse me as?"

"Well yeah, you can't blame them. You look a lot like an elf, save the eye and the height." Hanabi remarked playfully as they continued further down the forest.

"So, any particular reason why we are in this place, Saya-chan?" asked Hanabi to her tall teacher. As an answer, Saya say, "Well, since you have already started with the basics of your weapons training, we will have to sharpen it to perfection before we can move of towards the advanced techniques. For that, it's better that we move to a more secluded area to attract less attention." She explains while Hanabi listened intently.

"So just like what we did before meeting with the Giant wolf thingie?"

"Precisely."

For hours, the two walked deeper into the forest, searching for a perfect place to settle down, however this was easier said than done.

The vegetation was too thick and left little free space enough to make a camp. In addition, the fact that the canopy blocked out almost all of the light of the sun meant that they could not see the sun and had no means to tell time. And the last thing they wanted was to get lost in the forest at night time.

"You know, I think leaving the Meadow was a bad idea." huffed Hanabi, her steps tired and wavering by walking too much that day.

Saya couldn't help but agree more, but she knew that pondering upon their past mistake would be pointless. Her main focus right now was to get her flock out of the forest and to safety, seeing that this so called Magical Forest was uninhabitable.

As they made their way forward, the group suddenly stopped when they heard a peculiar sound. It was faint, but they could hear sounds like as if someone was coughing. Curiosity took a hold of them and they moved towards the direction of the noise where the sound of coughing was getting louder and serious.

"What's happening?" Hanabi whispered, really worried who or what could be coughing so hard.

"I don't know, but whoever it is, they are in a very bad shape." Was Saya's reply as they peered through a huge bush. Pushing aside the branches, they stuck their head out of the bush to examine the situation. What they saw left them speechless.

Ahead of them was what seemed to be a little girl, however, this girl's face was green with sickness and she had been the one who was coughing. This caused alarm bells to ring in their heads and the two rushed towards the child.

"Oh My god!! What do we do!" screamed Hanabi in panic as she tried to help the little girl who was still in a bad shape.

Saya was already on it and assessed the situation, "She is chocking. Hanabi, quickly, pat her back!"

The Ninja girl did as told, but she panicked a bit too much and struck the child the wrong way. Suddenly the little girl stopped coughing and turned blue and couldn't even make a sound.

Saya paled at this and scolded, "Do you know what you did?"

"I did as you told!"

"You hit her the wrong way, now she can't breathe!"

"Well excuse me!" yelled Hanabi back, while the girl turned a deeper shade of blue. Acting fast, Saya held the little girl by her waist and put her fist just below her abdomen and gave several quick presses to force open the air flow of the girl.

As for the girl, she was turning paler and paler with each passing moment as Saya tried to force out the material that was chocking her. Suddenly, she lost consciousness, causing both of them to nearly get a heart attack.

"OH MY GOD! SHE IS DEAD!!" cried Hanabi.

"NO SHE ISN'T! JUST STAY CALM!"

"I AM CLAM!"

Ignoring Hanabi, Saya focused at the child who had fainted due to lack of oxygen. Lacking options, Saya suddenly held the much smaller little girl upside down by her leg, making Hanabi loose all the colour of her face, "The hell are you doing!!"

"Trust me." Was all Saya said, and patted the girl's back with quick jabs. Hanabi watched with hitched breath as Saya tried her best to 'cure' the child, while Saya kept muttering, "Please work, please work."

Luck was on their side once again because suddenly the girl let out a mighty cough and spit out the thing that was obstructing her air flow. Imagine their surprise when they found out that the tiny child had chocked on a mushroom.

"What the hell is going one here?" mumbled Hanabi while massaging her temple.

\---X---

The night befell upon the Elven forest and so, without many options left, Saya had to set up a camp under the closest tree. Starting a fire, Saya was preparing dinner for herself, Hanabi and probably their mostly unlikely companion. The child whom they had saved from chocking to death lay sound asleep in one of their two bedrolls, while Hanabi watched over the child.

At first they were too preoccupied to notice but once the situation calmed down and tension was over, the two were very fast to notice that the little girl was in fact a very peculiar one. Especially considering that the pink-haired child had a fluffy racoon ears sprouting out of the apex of her skull along with a similar fluffy tail at her rear.

According to Hanabi, they must have stumbled upon a young Cat-elf, a supposedly rare sub-species of Elf, much to Saya's bewilderment. She was quite new to this world and was really not sure how evolution worked here, but considering how many magical phenomenons she had seen since her arrival, Saya didn't question much. She just focused on making their dinner.

Slowly the little child stirred in her sleep and muttered incoherent words before slowly sitting up. In a distinctly cat like fashion, she stretched herself and let out an adorable yawn. "That's the last time I'm trying to swallow a mushroom..." she mumbles to herself and rubbed her eyes.

Slowly she opened her eyes and the first thing she saw were the two older women looking at her with curious eyes. The child reacted by jumping up to her feet and panic.

"Kya, I am being kidnapped by two women!" the child screamed, much to the bewilderment of both Saya and Hanabi.

"Kid, it's okay, we are not gonna hurt you..." Hanabi tried to explain and get closer to her, but this proved to be rather counterproductive as the child suddenly turned hostile. To their shock, the little girl pulls out a huge boomerang form as if out of thin air. She hissed like a cat and threatened, "I'll be angry if you pock me again!"

"What? No one is pocking you!" the child answered Hanabi's words by throwing the boomerang at her. The Ninja girl had to duck to avoid the surprise attack. She turned towards the Cat-elf and yelled, "What the hell?"

But the girl simply smirked and pointed behind Hanabi, confusing the human girl. She did turned however and quickly learned that it was not a good decision as the boomerang was returning back and hit her square on her forehead.

"Ha! Take that you, Masked Bimbo!" cheered the child triumphantly.

She seized her victory dance when Hanabi slowly stood up from where she had fallen. One could see that Hanabi now had a noticeable red bump on her forehead while she herself was seething with rage. Looking at the child with murderous eyes, Hanabi growled dangerously, "What did you call me?"

The child, now sweating nervously, slowly inched backwards and bolted away, "Run!!"

"Come back here you little brat!" roared Hanabi and chased the child, who ran all around the camp with an angry Hanabi at her heel.

Saya looked at the comical commotion with no idea how to respond at all.

It was clear that Hanabi was very angry right now, so to save the still young child for getting hurt, Saya suddenly snatched the child up from the ground held her out of Hanabi's reach. (Which due to her height was not so hard to do.)

"Let me at her, Saya-chan! I will strangle her!" yelled Hanabi, still very angry and was trying to reach of the traumatized little girl.   
"Hana, she is just a child! Don't be so heartless!" Saya half argued, half scolded, which calmed Hanabi a bit. But it was clear that she was still cross because she stomped towards her bedroll and sat down with a pout.

Now that the bigger child was taken care of, Saya turned towards the smaller one and frowned at her, "That wasn't very nice you know."

However, the little cat-elf just stared at Saya with twinkling wide eyes. Looking at her from top to toe, the child finally breathed out, "Pretty!"

Saya sweat dropped at this while Hanabi 'Hmmph-ed' in annoyance.

\---X---

Hanabi had been quite difficult to reconcile but Saya was eventually able to tone down her anger to the level where she allowed Saya to take care of the wound on Hanabi's head and have dinner. Now we find her, Saya and their unexpected additional Guest, the Cat-elf girl, enjoying the dinner together as they all ate in silence.

Enjoy was putting it lightly as Hanabi was still eying the tiny cat-elf with murderous eyes, luckily the child was too busy enjoying Saya's cooking to notice the imminent danger.

"Wah! This is so good!" she exclaims and ate happily. Saya even had to scold her to eat slowly and to chew properly unless she chokes again.

"I believe we all were off in a wrong footing, so let's start over. I am Saya Mahira..." Saya introduces herself politely, "This is my friend and apprentice, Hanabi no iga."

The little girl answered with her mouth still half filled with food, "I am Nana, nice to meet you. Oh my god, this is so good! It's been ages since I ate a proper food. Just eating mushrooms can be boring." With that she ate more and asked for another refill, which was her fourth by now.

For someone so tiny, she sure ate a lot, but Saya obliged and gave her as much as she wanted, feeling remorse of the child that somehow triggers her maternal instincts.

After finishing her last filling, Nana sat back heavily and let out a satisfied sigh, "Ah, that hit the spot."

Ignoring the fact that she ate almost twice the amount of food Hanabi would eat (and trust me, she has a healthy diet)Saya was the first to inquire their young guest, "So, Nana was it? Care to explain what happened to you that we found you....in such a difficult situation like that?"

Saya was careful with her words while speaking, but Nana was a frank and straightforward person and let out a laugh, "Well, I found a new sort of mushroom. You see, I have eaten all sorts of mushrooms in the forest but when I found this new one, I got a bit too excited and tried to swallow it." Nana explained with a sheepish laugh, "Thanks for saving me."

Hanabi scoffed at this, still salty over being called a bimbo, "You better be, because that mushroom was poisonous. It was better that you chocked and didn't ate it, or things would've been even worse."

Nana paled at this and held her head muttering how she will never eat mushrooms again. While Saya frowned upon Hanabi's bit too direct approach. On noticing Saya's look, Hanabi says nonchalantly, "What? I just told her the truth."

Saya shook her head and turned back to Nana, "It is dangerous to stay in the forest, let alone all by yourself. Tell us where your home is and we will take you back."

The child giggled at this, much to their confusion, "Why would I want to go away, silly. I live in the forest!" she declares with a proud smile, making Saya frown at her answer, "What about your parents?"

It was then the two felt very bad for Nana because she just gave a gentle smile and answered sincerely, "I don't have any."

Her words causing many thoughts to race through Saya's mind.

Who was she?

What was she doing here?

Where are her parents?

And lastly,

How long has she been alone out here?

These questions made Saya's gut grow heavy with unreasonable guilt and pity. Even Hanabi let go for her previous anger and now felt sorry for the poor child. Still oblivious of their concerns, Nana gave a smile and chirped, "Enough about me, so tell me. What brings you here to this Magical forest?"

Although there were a bit embarrassed to admit it, they confessed that they were indeed lost in the forest and were looking for a way out.

Nana laughed at this and spoke, "I don't blame you. The forest can be really confusing for someone who isn't use to travelling through it. However, as thanks for saving my life and the delicious dinner, I will help you find your way out of the forest!"

This new development was unexpected but not an unwelcome one. Saya and Hanabi smiled at each other, fortune was really favouring them. But for how long?................ 


	48. Not so warm welcome

With Nana’s aid, the company travelled further down the forest the very next day as the young cat elf lead her new friends on a path which, according to her, was supposed to lead them out of the forest.

Hanabi was quite sceptical about it this and asked whether Nana knew what she was doing. To this the kid laughed and answered, “If there is anything I know best then it’s this forest. I know it as the back of my hand, it every trees, streams, rocks and mushrooms. I am an Expert!” she says boastfully unaware of the unimpressed look Hanabi was throwing at her. Turning towards Saya, she asked lowly, “Do you think we should trust her?”

Saya simply shrugged at this, “We don’t have much choice. And this is certainly a lot better than going around in circles.”

And so the group travelled through the jungle as their little guide lead them forward. All the way, Nana constantly talked about all her adventures and mis-adventures she had in the forest with her old friend whose they learned to be as Miya.

“You wouldn’t believe the time when we ran into this huge smilodon and we were like…” Nana was so engrossed in talking that she was oblivious or uncaring that whether her listeners were listening or not. Saya and Hanabi quickly learned that Nana was quite a chatterbox and thoroughly loved talking a lot. It was as if she was using all the energy that she gained from eating dinner last night was spent on talking.

While Saya found it to be quite enduring and adorable in its own right, Hanabi was very much annoyed by the child’s endless banter and was using all her might to restrain herself from snapping at Nana.

Her talks ranged to all sorts of things, form tales of adventures, the types of animals and mushrooms that were found in the forest, about her friend Miya, who, judging by the way Nana talks of her, she seemed to regard her highly. Most of her words flew right over their head, however Saya did perked up when Nana started talking about the Elven city of Moniya. She describes it as a beautiful city at the shore of a magnificent waterfall, telling that it was a sight to be seen at least once in life.

“The streets are clean, people are nice and they make the best mushroom soup in the whole world!” Nana exclaims happily causing the rest to laugh heartily.

“So, are we heading to the city? Thought we were searching for a more secluded place for training?” Questioned Hanabi.

“Well that might be so, but if going to this city means that we will be out of this forest, then we should definitely do so.” Saya stated in a sagely fashion.

“Hey, the forest isn’t so bad! It’s just that you lots are not used to it!” Nana was quick to defend her home, offended by Saya’s assumption of the Magical Forest to which the Sai’ore mumbled a small apology sheepishly.

They travelled the whole day till it got dark and were forced to set up a camp in a small clearing for the night. The company sat around the camp fire, easing their feet that had been sore after walking all day.

“Are you sure this is the way, Nana?” asked Hanabi tiredly, “How much further is this City of Elves?”

Nana, cheerful as ever, answered truthfully, “The forest is pretty big but at this rate, we will reach the city in about a week!”

Hearing this, the colour of Hanabi’s face faded, really not liking the idea of a long walk, causing Nana to laugh. “Ah, don’t worry, there is a small road about 2 hours walk away from here. That will make our journey easy!”

Saya frowned at this, “If there was a road, why didn’t we take it?”

Nana laughed at this, “Because it’s a secret road!”

Her answer confused both of them, “A secret road?”

“Yeah, a secret road. Most of the foreigners don’t even know it exists! You see, the Elves are not exactly the most populous race, and are also are very much prone to invasions. That why most elves live in the forest where the vegetation is so thick that the invading will get lost half way in the forest and soon give up!”

“But how can a road be a secret? It isn’t exactly something that you can hide, Y’know.”

Nana simply giggled at this and spoke mischievously, “You’ll see.”

Her words confusing them even further.

\---X---

The very next morning, Nana leads the group further into the forest. After a long walk, the child stopped before a particularly huge tree and chirped, “We are here!”

Seeing no road anywhere near them, Hanabi was the first to speak, “Are you messing with us? There is nothing but trees here!”

“Exactly.” Replied Nana with a grin and pointed upwards. Saya looked upwards and all she could see was the dense canopy of the trees that entirely blocked out the sky. However, Saya did saw that something was off. The tree that Nana had stopped looked awfully thick. It was easily about ten metres in diameter and it swirled above. It slowly dawned to her what Nana was implying and gasped, “You mean to say that the road is….” she couldn’t describe it in words but only pointed upwards. Nana smiled happily and nodded.

She when closer to the tree and tapped it lightly with her hand. Suddenly the roots of the tree opened up and revealed them all an entrance that leads into the tree.

“How?” mumbled Hanabi in shock while Nana simply giggled at the ninja’s shocked face, “I can do magic too! Come along now, we have a great journey ahead of us.”

First thing they discovered was that inside the tree was actually a spiral staircase that reached further upwards and it was clear where they had to go. The stairs was big enough to allow Nhari to actually come along with them which was good because otherwise, they would have had to resolve to use other means to get their horse to the top. Soon the company reached the top of the stairs and what lay before them shocked them all. Up at the top of the sixty meter tall tree was indeed a road, hidden within the dense canopy of the forest.

“Told you the road was hidden.” Grinned Nana, enjoying the priceless expressions Saya and Hanabi had. The road was made of wooden planks and stones which were at top condition with railings at the edges of the path. If one were to look form the side of the road, they who’ve gotten a clear idea just how high they were from the ground right now and frankly, it was terrifying.

(Imagine the arena in Brawl mode. Think that arena is actually a highway through the tree canopy.)

The entire system was like a highway that reached far deep into the forest with several trees serving as support pillars for the road. It was quite ingenious of the elves to come up with such a road-system as carving a road through a forest was generally much harder. This meant that their military and goods could move unnoticed throughout the forest without raising mass suspension. Very useful when ambushing or scouting on the enemies. A brilliant display of innovation indeed, especially the use of the natural terrain and biome to their full advantage.

With the road, their journey was easier as walking on road was simpler than traversing through the thick foliage of the forest floor.

“Great, my foot was sore stepping on marshy floor anyways.” says Hanabi with new found enthusiasm. Nana grinned and replied cheerfully, “We should be able to reach the Moon temple town by dusk. My friend Miya lives there, I’m sure she can help us!”

It was hard not to be effected by her infectious energy. With their destination set, the group travelled ahead with high spirits, unknown of the danger that lay ahead.

\---X---

Thanks to the road, travelling was easy, and the company had covered much ground by nightfall. Nana reassured them that they were close now and that they would reach the town any moment.

“The Moon Temple Town is not as grand as the Moniyan City, but it sure is pretty. Especially the Moon Temple, the most sacred worshipping place of the Moon Elves. It’s very beautiful and even more so within the temple. However non-elven races are not allowed in. I only got the chance to see because Cat-elves are part elf and Miya somehow managed to convince the temple priest.”

Saya nodded listening to Nana’s banter, getting somewhat used to her talkative nature while focusing ahead of them. She could see a faint light peeking through the canopy below, giving her an idea that they were probably reaching near the town. Her nose could also smell the scent of burning wood, further solidifying her doubts that indeed they were nearing the town.

As they grew close, her Human and Cat-elf companion sensed the warmth as well and brightened considerably. The road stopped before yet another giant tree where on a giant signboard was written ‘Moon Temple’ in Elvish Language. Nana hurriedly entered the tree through the door and called, “Hurry up, I wanna see Miya!”

Her steps were practically bouncing as she spoke, “Miya said that she was training to be a Moon Priestess herself. Maybe she has already been one by now. Oh I wanna see her!”

They finally reached the base of the Tree via the swirling stairs and opened the entrance. Nana was very happy and had a wide smile on her face….. Which faded at the sight before her.

Nana was expecting a beautiful town of Elves upon the various trees that supported the platform which held the town. But before her was nothing but the burning remains of the once beautiful town she knew.

The Little girl’s eyes widened in horror as she slowly dropped to her knees. Everything was burning, most were destroyed and ashes of the fallen town and people alike fluttered pitifully in the area. It was a disaster. It was a nightmare.

Not being able to hold it back anymore, tears trailed down Nana’s eyes. She knew so many peoples of this town; she had so many fond memories of this place. And to see it burning utterly broke her. The child cried pitifully, breaking down into a violent fit of sobs. Since Hanabi was the closest to her so she didn’t waste any time to wrap the child in a sympathetic hug while Nana poured her heart out in her bosoms.

Saya looked at the child with sympathy. However, there was still one question that remained unanswered.

“Who could have done such a thing?”…………………. 


	49. Ashes of Invasion

The town was in ruins, no living souls was nearby and judging by the amount of burnt rubbles that was around, it was clear that this was a rather recent event. Most probably a day ago as not the entirety of the town was a pile of ashes and was still burning.

Nana had been a wreck and Hanabi was cradling the child in her arms, trying her best to comfort her yet no words managed to soothe her sobs.

It was heart breaking but they also understood that this was not the best time for it. The destruction was recent, that meant that ones who did this must be near as well. They were right because soon after they heard someone approaching and had to hide in the bushes nearby to not get caught.

Saya slowly peered out of the bush and saw two huge blood orcs, accompanied by another figure. Distinctly female, the being had the shape of a human but had pointy ears like that of a Sai’ore.

‘So these are the elves.’ Saya thinks to herself, now understanding why the humans confused her with one. However, this elf had a distinct purple skin and unnatural glowing white eyes.

Upon seeing the elf, Nana was confused and breathed out lowly, “A night elf? But they mostly keep to themselves at the other side of the forest. What are they doing here in the Moon Elf territory?”

“Only one way to find out…” mutters Saya and slowly pulled out her bow from bag on Nhari’s back (The one she bought in ‘Roger and Ruby’s’ arc) and notched an arrow. Hanabi got the signal and readied her kunai as well.

\---X---

Karina walked through the burned mess of the once beautiful town with little remorse. Their plan was going well so far and had covered a lot of ground. The Night Elves and the Moon Elves never did actually see eye to eye and were always at odds with each other even when the two races were practically cousins. But The Moons elves were greater in number and more advanced than them so the Night elves generally avoided conflicts with them.

But when the Abyss reached out to the Night elves for help to defeat the Moon elves, they were quick to agree. The Abyss was powerful and their numbers alone could overwhelm the elves even with their superior magic and technology. However they too had the same problem as all the other invaders who had invaded Moniya, The Magical forest. Their number would mean nothing if they couldn’t even reach the elves, but that is where the Night elves came in. They knew the forest and could guide the terrible force across the kingdom. A small price to watch the Moon Elves burn for all the treachery they had did to the Night elves for all these years.

Their latest campaign over the Moon Temple Town had been an explosive success. The town defence was quickly overwhelmed and by the end of the day, the abyss conquered more of the Elven lands. Many of the town’s folk were killed; a few survivors were taken prisoners. Karina had no idea why the Abyss needed them, she speculated that it might be to ransom them form King Este. However, deep down she knew the truth must be a lot more sinister.

Karina shudders, remembering how her small sister was sacrificed to the Abyss; the memory making her resent her colleagues even more.

‘Calm down, Karina…’ she thinks to herself, ‘You have worked too hard to infiltrate the ranks of the Abyss to let your emotions mess this up. Just a bit more and you will have your revenge on the abyss.’ She tells herself, promising to get her revenge on the Abyss for the wrong that was done to her.

She had a job for now and that was to check whether there were more survivors or not. She and the two orcs were sent to check that sobbing noises they heard over this area and so far, they didn’t find anything.

The Two orcs that were accompanying her growled suddenly, “There is nothing here. Are you sure that you heard some noises, Shadow Blade? Or have your elven ears deceived you?” they mock her with their guttural laughter and the Night elf assassin did her best to control her emotions.

“No, we should be more careful. I am sure I heard something over here.”

The Orcs didn’t believe her and laughed some more. However that was cut short when an arrow was suddenly lodged in his face right between the eyes. His hulking figure fell down like a sack of potatoes on the ground and his friend followed soon after a knife met its mark in his left eye.

Another arrow was shot towards her from the bushes nearby and on instinct Karina activated her Elusiveness state.

\---X---

Saya’s eyes widened in shock when the arrow that she had fire literally phased past Karina’s ethereal body, leaving the nightelf alive and unharmed. Her instincts flared and Karina bolted the other way as fast as she could, making Saya pale in panic, “She is going for reinforcements!”

Acting fast, Hanabi threw her ultimate move towards the fleeing assassin. Throwing her chakram in an angle, Hanabi predicted Karina’s movement and caught her in the middle of her escape.

Karina was thoroughly surprised when the huge chakram hit her. Her Elusive state made her immune to all normal attacks but the nature of Hanabi’s attack was anything but normal as tendrils sprouted out of the ground and bind her to that place, complete immobilizing her.

The Night-elf’s power timeout and her once ethereal body became solid once more. Saya could end this by shooting an arrow at the woman without a problem, but if they were to understand what was happening, they would need a prisoner. So instead of outright killing the elf, they decided to reveal themselves and when towards the immobilized woman to incapacitate her.

Seeing the Sai’ore, the human, the cat-elf and the hoarse approaching, Karina panicked. Especially seeing the huge ‘elven-woman’ who was coming closer with malicious intent. In desperation, Karina lashed out and slashed at the tendrils with her dual blades, trying her best to chop through the confines that restrained her. Saya cursed upon seeing this and dashed towards the assassin before she escaped. Unfortunately, Saya was tad too late and Karina had already freed herself.

She re-entered her elusiveness state and Saya phased right through her when she tried to shove Karina to the ground. Knowing that this was the only chance that she was going to get, Karina tried another escape attempt. However, an angry Nana jumped towards her and roared, “You’re not going anywhere!”

Using her powers, Nana threw a project towards Karina, who was unfazed by it. She was confident that her Elusive state would render her immune to any sort of attacks, however what she didn’t count on was that the projectile Nana threw at her was in fact a small stuffed blue rabbit-cat toy. As soon as it touched her, Karina’s entire body was encased in a thick film of pink smoke, making her cough violently.

The smoke cleared as quickly as it came, however Karina suddenly felt that something was off. Everything around her seemed awfully big for some reason. The assassin brought up her arms to fan away the remaining smoke and that was when she saw it. She was expecting her arm, what she saw was a soft blue furry limb with pink paws. The colour drained from her face as Karina looked down at her body and all she saw was blue fur.

“What??”

Even Saya and Hanabi stood completely aghast as they saw that the once deadly night-elf assassin was now reduced to a small blue cat-rabbit thing. “What the hell??”

Recovering from her initial shock, Karina turned the other way and tried to make a run for it but she was not used to her new body and had to hop pitifully to get away as further as she could.

Nana casually walked up to the now transformed Karina and lifted her up casually as if she was her pet. The Cat-elf looked towards her shocked companions and smiled, “Told you I could do magic too!”

\---X---

It took quite a while for Hanabi and Saya to finally digest that their small, sweet and cute friend Nana was in fact a very capable mage. It’s as people say, you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Pushing those thoughts aside for now, they all focused at the current situation at hand. The group now circled the transformed Night-elf, much to Karina’s dismay and looked at her with piercing gaze.

“I am sure you know the drill, Assassin. Answer our questions and we might just let you live.” Saya says coldly, her demeanour changing drastically, surprising Nana who had yet to witness how imposing Saya’s character change could be.

Karina gulped as she involuntarily shuddered under the Sai’ore’s gaze. She had no idea why it was so but this woman really gave her the chills. Plus Karina had noticed her eyes with slit pupils and her unnaturally long canines. She had a feeling that the woman before her was not an Elf and frankly, it made her stomach churn in a bad way.

Luckily, Nana suddenly hugged Karina’s small squishy body and spoke out, “Hey, no need to be a mean!” unknowingly squashing Karina against herself and nearly squeezing the life out of her. “I am sure she will answer if you ask nicely!”

Saya sighed at the child’s characteristically childish request but still decided to humour her anyways. Turning towards Karina once more, she asked nicely, “Now tell me all that has happened here. Or do you want to get squashed again.” She whispered the last part lowly so that only Karina would hear.

The assassin turned cat-rabbit paled at the thought of being squashed by the child and answered hurriedly, “About week ago, The Abyss formed an alliance with the Night Elves of the Magical forest. This town was merely but another score in the conquest of the Abyssal horde.”

The company frowned at this and asked, “Why would the abyss do this? Just the few months ago their siege on Mossenia was toppled.”

“I don’t know.” Answered Karina truthfully, “I am just a soldier.”

Saya rubbed her forehead at this. The very reason why she had decided to bring Hanabi to the kingdom of Moniya was so that they could get some break from the chaos and wars of the human empire but as luck would have it, they walked right into yet another civil war and there was no doubt that they will be getting involved in it as well.

Hanabi seemed to have her own doubts and initiated her own interrogation, “Why hasn’t the elf king sent forces to secure the conquered areas?”

Posing a good question, the group looked at Karina expectantly and she answered nervously, “The Abyss were very thorough on not letting any news go out of the captured settlements. The Elven towns and cities are scattered and rarely communicated with each other, we used it to our advantage.”

Her answer caused Hanabi to ball her fist in anger and Nana to get sad. While Saya was simply impressed by the calculative measures the Abyss took. The Technology in Land of Dawn was not developed enough to have fast reliable means of communications over great distances. What the abyss did was basically isolating the kingdom within its own wall and picking it apart piece by piece. A brutal but effective strategy, something she was very well accustomed to.

“What about the survivors? Are they still alive?” Nana asked softly, her voice small and almost broken. It made Saya and Hanabi sorry for the child, especially Karina. The small child reminded her of her long lost sister and that alone was enough to make her sympathize with Nana.

Letting out a sigh, Karina spoke, “They have rounded up all the survivors at the town square. They are currently being loaded to be sent to the Abyssal keep for who know what atrocities. Stop them if you can.”

Nana perked up in joy at this and looked towards Saya and Hanabi with eyes full of hope.

“Did you hear her? We can still save them!” she squeaks excitedly, almost jumping.

Saya however frowned. It was clear she did not trust the words of the assassin and was quite concerned that Karina might be leading them to a trap. When she voiced her concerns to them, Hanabi simply shrugged. “It mostly likely is a trap. But those people need our help and if you have taught me anything, it’s that ‘you don’t back down form helping people’.” She declares boldly and Nana looks at her with awe and admiration.

The Ancient Sai’ore let out a breath. She should have known that her human would be more than willing to come forth to help those in need and frankly, she couldn’t help but respect and adore her virtuous nature. Smiling softly, she simply say, “Fine. Just please don’t kill yourself.”………….

****(Chapter 47 done. We really have come very far my dear readers. Merry Christmas to you all and may the new year be far better than the one we had)** **


	50. Rescue operation

To say that Miya was having a bad day was a huge understatement. It had been in the dead of night yesterday when the Abyss had attacked. The town had always been a peaceful one and the guards were merely just for formalities and slacked a lot. Their slacking of their duty had been the reason why they got no chance to retaliate and soon the town was overwhelmed.

As the priestess of the moon goddess, Miya had tried her best to take the people to safety and tried to send for help from the capital of Moniya but alas, their messengers were the first to be cut down. Trapped within their own home town, Miya had gathered the remaining citizen towards their only refuge, the Moon Temple.

The weary elves had no other to turn to other then their Goddess as they prayed at the altar for a saviour as the abyssal horde was trying to bring down the main door of the temple. It was then when a miracle happened. A ray of pale blue light descended from the sky and fell upon Miya, The Moon Goddess had blessed her from the heavens above as a crystal bow materialized in her grasp. The bow was not a normal bow, they all felt it. It was an ancient and powerful weapon and with it, Miya lead the counter attack to reclaim her town. With the blessed bow, Miya rained down arrows from the heavens upon the abyssal forces, forcing them to actually retreat.

However, there is only so much a single woman could handle. Miya fought all day, dealing heavy damage on the enemies, as they had not anticipated a strong resistance. But the Abyssal forces gradually recovered from their initial shock. They took severe casualties by the arrows of Miya’s bow, but they eventually overwhelmed her, especially that night-elf assassin that had knocked Miya out, whom she had failed to detect. They ambushed her and eventually took her down, thus ending their small resistance.

Miya was lucky that they decided not to kill her after the whole fiasco. That is the reason why we now find her along with the rest of the survivors being loaded to cages, awaiting to be transported back to the abyss, most probably as slaves or sacrifices for their Abyssal God.

She was kept chained and bound on a separate cage, a precaution taken by the demons after having proven just how much of a trouble she can be. Helplessly she watched as people were taken cage by cage by the Demons while she was powerless to stop them.

“I must say, this is indeed a very beautiful bow.” A voice speaks aloud, pulling Miya’s attention. Just outside her cage stood the Queen of Apocalypse herself and in her hands lay the Goddess blessed crystal bow that had been confiscated from her. Seeing the holy bow in the hands of the demoness really angered the elf priestess and so she snared venomously, “Unhand the holy bow at once you filthy spawn of evil! You will pay for this!”

Her outburst only making Alice laugh hysterically as she twirled the bow in her hands a bit more, “No…” she says pulling the string of the bow, making a magical arrow to appear on the bow magically, “I think I will not.” Alice says playfully, shooting an arrow in the sky, further infuriating the elf. Meanwhile, Alice just kept examining the bow with a satisfied look. “I think I will keep it.”

\---X---

As all these events were unfolding, Saya and the CO had just arrived near the town square. Hidden behind the rubbles of the burning city, they examined the situation at hand. Upon seeing Alice, Saya felt her heart ache with sorrow and betrayal while Hanabi cursed under her breath, “Damn it, it’s that Psycho Lady.”

Pushing her personal feelings aside, Saya tried to focus at the task at hand and observed the situation. Finally having loaded all the citizens in the cages, the abyss were now slowly heading out with their newly acquired cargo.

Being impatient as ever, Hanabi tried to attack head on but was suddenly held back by Saya, much to her surprise, “Saya-chan, what are you doing?”

“Are you insane? We cannot attack just head on, there is just too many of them!” Saya scolded while holding Hanabi back from doing something drastic.

“But if we don’t catch them, we will lose them!” Hanabi argued back. Determined and stubborn, she was unwilling to look out for her own well being and this scared Saya. Characteristically brash and impatient, she feared that this very nature would be the reason of her downfall and this was a thought Saya dreaded the most.

Karina, (still a cat-rabbit) who was being held like a teddy bear by Nana, slowly spoke out loud, “They are probably taking the path through the forest trench. That’s the way we arrived here in the first place.”

Nana perked up at this and hopped on her legs, “Oh I know that place, and in fact I know a short cut!”

This new information was the most helpful because that was exactly what they needed to even the odds of number. With a determined look, Saya declares, “Prepare yourselves, Ladies. We set up an ambush.”

\---X---

It had been several hours since they were taken from their home town. With the help of the Night elves, the Abyssal forces were easily able to travel through the Magical forest, the main defence of the Elven kingdom. For hours, Miya watched lifelessly as the Demons dragged her and her people further and further away from their home. A few minutes ago they had entered the Forest trench and were steadily making progress onward.

All the while, Miya kept worrying about the future; she worries about the fate that awaits for them in the abyss. Hearing cries of children, Miya gently moved her head to face a cage that held several little elven children. It was no secret that Alice’s favourite was the blood of Elves. Especially young ones and Miya couldn’t help but pity them. Ripped from the hands of their wailing mothers, waiting to be served as the latest fix for the cruel Queen of Apocalypse, Miya regrets that these children will meet their end without receiving the last love from their parents.

And she couldn’t help but believe that this was her fault. Had she been a bit stronger, had she been more careful, she could’ve saved them. The question of ‘What if’ kept eating her as Miya sunk deeper into her own failure while the demons kept moving forward towards their destination.

Meanwhile, Alice was at the head of their cargo caravan. The Crystal Bow, a trophy of her victory, lay proudly on her back as she led her men forward. The Bulk of their forces were still stationed in the towns and settlements that they had conquered while sending only a small contingency of soldiers to supply the cargo back to the abyss.

Their cargo didn’t just contained people but several supplies, weapons, metals and all the other supplies that had been looted as spoils of victory. This was important as it would serve them for what was to come in the near future and this was just the beginning.

Unconsciously Alice’s hand went towards the scarf that she always keeps with her and caressed it gently. It had been a long time since she had heard from Saya. Alice shook her head at these thoughts. She had hoped that with time, she would forget about her infatuation and start feeling as normal as she always had been but for this instance, time didn’t heal her. Alice still thinks about her. She thinks what she would be doing, how she was, whether she was safe or not. Had she forgiven her?

She always tried indulging in her other passions, yet no matter how many elves she tortured, how many goblets of blood she had consumed, she just couldn’t stop thinking about the gorgeous Sai’ore.

‘It had been a mistake.’ She said to herself so many countless times, yet deep down she knew, she was not ashamed or guilty of her mistake.

Yet she feared that this was making her soft. So Alice tried distracting herself by serving the Abyss as much as she could. She fought, led the army and even accompanied the small platoon for the cargo delivery which would normally be carried out by other lowly figures. However, Alice was way past such petty matters of pride. She had got a taste of what it felt like to be regarded with emotion besides anger and fear. It was too intoxicating and it made her somewhat resent what she been through all these times. She was a demon, a being meant to be hated, that was what her kind was supposed to be, yet the taste of the other side was breaking the entire notion of her mentality and her mind was barely holding together.

She would sometimes consider leaving all these and fleeing back to the arms of Saya, to say ‘Screw you’ to the entire world and be with someone who accepted her. Alice knew she could, Saya would never turn her down. She was hurt but she still cared for her, as did she.

Then Alice would swiftly be reminded just why she was doing all this, the very reason why she left Saya in the first place. She couldn’t. The Abyss would hunt them down to the edge of the world and give them a slow and agonizing death.

No.

She was doing this for Saya’s own sake.

However, Alice couldn’t help but have hope in her heart. That when this was all over, when their ultimate plan would succeed, Alice might be able to return to her and at that time, no one would be able stop her.

This thought caused her lips curl up in a small but genuine smile. Maybe, perhaps their union was possible someday, even if it was not possible just yet.

However her train of thoughts was broken when an explosion rocked the whole forest.

\---X---

Nana had been extremely helpful on their trip as the young elf, as true to her words, led them towards the Forest trench. She had taken the shorter route which gave them an hour lead from the enemies and gave them enough time to set up an ambush.

Saya and Hanabi spent that time wisely by setting up their trap. Using the steep trench to their advantage, they worked together and toppled a huge tree just over the trench and rigged its trunk with the several explosive tags form Hanabi’s arsenal.

Nana too have been busy setting up her own traps with her doll thingies and frankly, it really unnerved them, especially after seeing what it did to Karina who was still a cat-rabbit. The said transformed assassin was currently trapped within a straw basket, an item from one of the various supplies on Nhari’s back, whose lid was closed tightly. There were several perforations on the lid as well as the front so that their tiny prisoner doesn’t suffocate.

The entire situation was very humiliating and Karina obviously couldn’t decide what was worse, to be turned into a helpless toy or to be trapped in a basket.

“Seriously, a basket? A freaking basket?” she said loudly as her captures were busy setting up traps for her allies.

“Would you rather be tied to a tree trunk by a collar?” asked Saya humorously, causing Karina to pale frightfully.

Hanabi laughed at this and added her own suggestion, “I still think she would be excellent bait!”

Poor Karina nearly had a heart attack at what the ninja girl was suggesting, but Nana suddenly butted in and stomped her legs angrily, “Don’t be mean!” she then pats the basket cheerfully and chirps, “Don’t worry Monila, if you behave, no one will hurt you.”

Karina rolled her eyes at this and grumbled in annoyance, “For the hundredth time, my name is Karina, not Monila!”

The group couldn’t help but laugh at this small banter. However their laughter seized because Saya suddenly told them all to be quite. Her sharp ears twitched (an action Karina didn’t fail to pick) before she declared seriously, “They are coming.”

As soon as she said this, the mood turned grim and Hanabi and Nana sprung up into action. They all took their respective positions.

Things were dead serious when the cargo caravan moved down the trench. Saya watched with hard expression as she looked upon all the people that were being transported. Her grip around her bow tightened, as a new determination took a hold of her. She was going to save them, this she had promised to Nana and Hanabi.

The time of action was now, so upon her signal, Hanabi triggered the explosive tags on the tree trunk that they had toppled over the trench. When the trunk exploded in the middle, it fell straight below and successfully sealed the trench from one side.

Chaos erupted within the ranks of the Abyssal Demons as the sudden attack send everyone in a panicked fit. As soon as the explosions went off, the traps that Nana had set up sprung to action as well. Her cat-rabbit toys sprung to life and chased every demon that was closest to it and turning them into the horrid cat-rabbit things like Nana had done to a certain moon elf assassin.

Soon after that followed a volley of arrows, kunai and shurikens that swiftly thinned out their numbers before they could even react.

Alice was having a very hard time regrouping her soldiers and to form a defensive circle but she was too late. The attackers had been very quick and precise, leaving her with only but a handful of soldiers who were lucky enough to not to be hit but those dreadful cat-rabbit voodoo dolls. Soon they fell as well as a lone figure jumped down and took care of them as swiftly as ever. Her eyes widened in surprise and terror when Alice realized just who the figure was.

Saya removed her sword form the torso of the demon she had just slain and looked at Alice straight in the eye. Her face was stern yet her true feelings were obvious and clear as crystal in Saya’s pained green eyes. The two just stood speechless while Alice’s mind raced a thousand miles per hour.

‘This was not how it was supposed to be.’ She really didn’t plan on this. She had hoped to save Saya form the affairs of the abyss at her own expense yet the more she tried, the more fate pushed Saya deeper into the circles of their conspiracy. It was like everything she was working for was going to waste. These were the words that raced inside Alice’s mind while Saya herself was facing her own inner conflict.

‘Why must we always cross pass like this? Destined to meet at the opposite side, where union is always impossible, yet still lacking the ability to despise each other.’

Fate really loved playing cruel tricks upon them as they met again in such grave conditions. However, they had to stop their reunion short as they both heard that Hanabi and Nana had just jumped down the trench themselves to assist Saya, making both of them to break free of their staring contest.

Saya was the first to charge straight towards Alice, something the Queen of Apocalypse was not ready for. She was expecting an attack from the Sai’ore, so Alice hastily brought up the crystal bow to block it; even though she knew that it would be useless considering that Saya was just too experienced and could easily bypass her pitiful defence.

However, what she didn’t expect was for Saya to get close to her and grasp Alice’s arm and bow. Looking straight into the blood demon’s eyes, she uttered softly, “You must go…..Please.”

She didn’t get to ponder on it for long because, Saya suddenly pushed Alice away and fell down on the ground herself, as if making it seem that it was Alice who had thrown her to the ground. Suddenly remembering what she was asked to do, Alice turned around and quickly unfolded her wings to fly away.

“On no you don’t!” Yelled Hanabi and threw her Higanbana towards the blood demon queen. Had it hit her, there was no telling what the elves would’ve done to her but luckily that question would never be answered as Saya had ‘accidentally’ got in the way of the attack and Higanbana hit her instead of whom it was meant for.

“Saya-chan!” Hanabi cries, terrified at what ‘she’ had done by ‘mistake’ and immediately when to help her teacher who now was immobilized with thorny tendrils wrapped around her body.

Giving one last look back towards Saya, Alice zoomed off towards the sky. All the while, she kept cursing as tears flowed uncontrollably down her eyes, “This was not how it was supposed to be!”……….

(I was gonna publish this on 1st Jan on new year but I kinda got busy. Hope you liked the chapter and a very happy new year to you all)


	51. To the Capital they go

It took a while for them to free Saya from the tendrils that immobilized her. Its thorns cut deep in her skin as it tightened around Saya’s body while Hanabi desperately tried to hack off the tendrils form her friend. Higanbana’s ultimate technique was meant to grasp its target until the victim was dead so it took a lot of time and effort for Hanabi to cut all the vines down.

Saya’s wounds healed instantly and she was glad that she was able to save Alice from a deadly fate; however her action had caused her human to act accordingly. As soon as the ancient Sai’ore was freed of her confines, Hanabi immediately latched on to her in a desperate embrace, sobbing and apologising over and over again over the pain that ‘she’ had caused to Saya.

Seeing her human in such distress really broke Saya’s heart but she understands in her mind that she could not reveal the truth to Hanabi, least her unnatural relation with Alice would be exposed to the world. Thus with a heavy heart, Saya simply returned the hug and told Hanabi that it was just an accident and that she forgave her.

With her human being comforted in her arms, Saya looked up at the direction where Alice had flown off to. The Sai’ore had made a terrible decision. She knew what she did was probably the worst case scenario ever and now that Alice lives, the Abyss would know of their assault on the cargo and would send troops over to investigate at once. And for all they knew, the soldiers were probably already on their way!

Indeed she had made a terrible decision, but Saya couldn’t help it. Her body moved on its own and no matter how much it hurt her, in her heart, Saya knows that she still cares for the Blood Demon Queen. Alas, Saya would have to ground herself to the reality back again. Even if Alice didn’t spill the beans to the Abyss, they would know about their surprise rescue sooner or later. This meant that they would have to leave at once and go to a safe place.

\---X---

The ambush had finished as soon as it had started and Miya just stood astonished as her captures fell dead on the ground after a barrage of arrows, knives and Nana’s horrid toy attacks. Soon after a human girl came towards their cargo and started freeing her people while a familiar figure rushed in front of her cage, making Miya’s eyes wide in shock.

“Nana? What are you doing here?” Miya asks with her voice filled with confusion.

“Saving you obviously!” grins Nana and unlocks the cages with a key that she had picked from a dead demon. She fumbled around a bit to unshackle the elf girl from her chains a bit but was finally able to free Miya.

The very first thing Miya did after being freed was to scoop Nana in her arms and hug her tightly, “I don’t know how you did this but thank you for saving us all.”

Nana blushed bashfully, partially because of the praise and partially because she was squished between Miya’s bountiful assets. Red as a tomato, Nana stammered shyly, “I wasn’t alone. I had my new friends to help me.”

Her words caught Miya off guard. Not knowing who were these ‘new friends’ that Nana was talking about, she looked at Nana questioningly but she got her answer fairly soon.

The first thing Miya noticed was a human ninja girl helping everyone off the now open cages as the captured elves thanked her. However the other figure really caught Miya’s eyes.

With skin so fair that it could literally be considered as white as snow and wavy locks of emerald hair. A gorgeous and serene face yet piercing green eyes which held power and wisdom plus the fact that she was so unbelievably tall, Saya was a figure that was hard to ignore. That was probably the reason why all the elves kept looking at her direction in awe and wonder as she carefully tended to some of the injured civilians of the cargo.

Nana grinned and dragged Miya towards them and introduced, “That ninja girl is Hanabi. She can be real mean at times but is mostly okay…” the child explains while Hanabi lets out an offended yell. Then Nana points towards Saya, “And that is Miss. Saya. Her cooking is really good!”

Her name suddenly caused Miya to gasp in surprise. “Saya? As in Saya Mahira the Slayer of the Lava lord?”

It was now Nana’s turn to be shocked because she asked with confusion, “You know her?”

Well how could she not. Moniyan Empire kept to itself but that didn’t mean that they didn’t kept tabs on their neighbours. So understandably, they knew of the new hero that was getting popular and Saya had been the most noticeable figure. Described as an Elven Warrior with great strength, the elves of Moniya were really curious of this new hero.

“Looks like words do travel fast in these lands.” Speaks the woman in question as Saya approached Nana and Miya who had come to investigate who were discussing about her.

Now Miya got a closer look upon their tall saviour, the first thing she was about to notice first and foremost was the fact that indeed Saya was not an Elf. The resemblance was there but Miya could recognise the difference. Saya’s lean and athletic body structure was unlike an elf’s small and slender build. Plus her snake like eyes and fangs made her stand out. Not to mention how her pointy ears so naturally moved and flicked occasionally time by time (something an Elf couldn’t do). These differences were enough to prove Miya that the person before her was indeed a being who is of origins that was outside of their knowledge and frankly, it scared her.

Seeing Miya’s look, Saya frowned. Gulping a bit, Saya offered a bow to Miya, “I believe that this is yours.”

When Saya had had her small interaction with Alice, she had managed to snatch the crystal bow from the demoness’ grasp. It was clear that the bow was not one of Alice’s arsenals and since the demon queen had left without it, Saya had decided to hold on to it so that she could return it to its true owner.

Miya was bit unsure when Saya offered the crystal longbow back to her and it took her a while before she accepted it, although she was very careful about it and was on her guard, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the tall Sai’ore. But Saya didn’t mind it, she understands that Miya realized that she was not one of them and naturally Miya would fear the unknown.

Not heeding that for the time being, she spoke in a serious tone, “We cannot stay here. The Abyss would be sending recon team any moment so I suggest we move out.”

Before Miya could voice her opinion, Nana quickly jumped on her toes and chirped, “I know a way! Not far from here is another one of those trees. We should head for the capital!”

It was then Hanabi who came towards them and added thoughtfully, “The brat is right. The Capital is probably the best bet for the safest place right now.”

Considering their words, Saya nodded and looked back at Miya, “You’re Miya right?”

The Moon priestess was surprised that Saya knew her name, but considering that they were with Nana, she no doubt must have talked their ears off about their adventures. They made eye contact for a while and she had no idea why but Saya’s emerald eyes overwhelmed her. The power those emerald eyes held was indescribable. By just looking her eyes, Miya could feel that Saya was a person who had seen and done many things. Great things as well as bad things and it honestly intimidated her. Miya looked away and simply nodded.

Ignorant of effect she had on the priestess, Saya said softly, “We need to leave immediately, can you please tell your people tell to rally up for a journey. It’s not safe here.”

The hesitation and slight distrust was still clear in Miya’s face even if no words left her mouth. She just stood still and looked away, unable to match Saya’s piercing gaze.

Sighing softly, Saya knelt on her one knee and place her right hand over her heart, “I ,Saya Mahira, promise that no harm will befall upon you or your kin and I will defend them with my life. These words I give as a Hrontre’haare.”

Her words held such passion that it moved Miya, but at the same time they were uttered with upmost sincerity. Saya’s once piercing eyes now held warmth that Miya had failed to see before. She could see that Saya meant what she said and for some reasons, she couldn’t help but feel safe after her reassurance.

Miya finally nodded and gave a small smile, causing Saya to return it as well. Now that they both were at the same page, the priestess was now willing to help fasten things up. Soon they were ready for the journey ahead.

\---X---

Owendelle was once a peaceful settlement of the Moniyan Empire. Being situated fairly at the edge of the Magical forest, this town was amongst the first to be invaded and ravaged. Now it served as an active garrison for the forces of the abyss.

Selena herself along with many of the elder demons of the Abyss were currently in the town as well and they formulated further plans for their invasion.

“The recent raid on the town of knowledge was a success but we still have yet to discover the sacred knowledge.” An abyssal demon General says gruffly, clearly annoyed by their lack of success.

They were in a fairly large war camp that was used for war planning. Complete with a huge table in the middle with a map of the Elven Kingdom on it.

Another elder scoffed at this and stated as a matter of fact, “Of course we will not find it in any of the smaller settlements. The Sacred Knowledge is one of the most prized and guarded assets of the Elves. They probably have it stashed within their Capital walls.”

The Fire demon lord (Successor of Thamuz) grumbled in annoyance, “Why do we need that thing anyway? How can an elven library be of any help to the Abyss?”

“Because, my lovely Lord of the Fire….” Says Selena entering their meeting camp, making the entire room full of elder demons become stiff, “It is the will of the abyss!” the abyssal witch says cheerfully.

Backing her up, the other abyssal demon elder explains further, “The Sacred Knowledge of the Elves has the vital knowledge we need to further our cause. Therefore it is important for us to get our hands on them.”

“But you yourself said that it is most likely being held in the capital.” Argued The General once again, he continues, “We have been able to successfully take over many parts of the kingdom but attacking the Capital just now would not bode well.”

“Why not?” grumbled the fire demon lord, “We have completely devastated their outer defences and obliterated any sources by which they can communicate or call for help. Why should we wait? Or are you just afraid?”

His insult really triggered the General and he spat venomously, “You maybe a lord but are still a whelp in the art of warfare, so be useful and let us true warriors worry about strategy.” in a blink of an eye, the elders of the meetings were now ready to tear each other’s throat. However, before anything serious could happen, a lone soldier suddenly entered the camp and bowed, “Pardon my intrusion, Lords, but I bring grave news.”

This sudden turn of events distracted the elders enough to forget about their current feud and put their attention on the soldier. “Speak up, Soldier. What troubles you so?”

Take a deep breath, the soldier declares, “Milady Alice has just returned, she says that her caravan was ambushed and that she was the only survivor.”

Selena giggled at this, “It seems that, Dear Alice is getting rusty over time.”

However the others didn’t treat this situation so lightly, “What? How can this happen? If the prisoners escape then much of our plans will be ruined?”

“Who dares to intrude in our plans yet again?”

The Soldier gulped nervously and uttered his grave news, “The Xeno my lord. The Slayer of Thamuz has been sighted amongst the ambushers.”

He words caused severe reactions from the elders as they all roared loudly in anger and spat out curses upon the Xeno.

However Selena merely smiled, “Hmm looks like things are getting more interesting.”

“More interesting?” roared an elder to Selena, “If the Xeno gets involved in this matter, she will ruin this campaign like she did with Mossenia!”

But Selena simply shrugged off his outburst, “No matter, because we still have the element of surprise.” Selena walks towards the table at the centre of the camp and looked upon the map of Moniya hungrily. She pointed at the capital at the middle of the map and declared, “Gather the men, we march towards the Capital as once.”

Her words stunning all the elders.

\---X---

For days Saya, Hanabi and the rest of the people they had saved walked down the hidden road of the forest without rest. Paranoia had taken a hold of them and the elves refused to stay for any rest until they reached the capital. The People were injured and tired and even if Saya tried to help these poor souls the best she could, there were just too many of them and she lacked the resources.

The Food supply that she had was finished on the first day as Saya had to share the food that she had packed for herself and Hanabi with forty more souls and all each got was barely a handful. Something that was not enough and rather than providing some tiny ounce of satisfaction, it served as a reminder at just how hungry they were. Yet still people didn’t complain and kept moving.

It was the children that worried them the most as those poor souls were having the worse of it. Most were carried by their parents but some were orphans as well, so Saya didn’t shy away from carrying a lonely child who could no longer walk.

Nana, no matter how brave she was, was a child too, so naturally she too didn’t had enough stamina to keep walking for long and so Saya had place her on Nhari’s back. Bless the old mare’s soul, the usually grumpy horse was gentle upon the poor child and let her ride on her back. But Saya was really happy that Nana’s spirit had yet to diminish.

She was still talkative, abet she talked a bit less but talkative nonetheless. Karina, who was still transformed, served as a plushie for Nana who refused to let go of her. Saya found it really odd that Nana would do so, much less to an enemy but one could see that Nana really liked Karina (in her transformed form) and cared for her. She had still to reveal to Miya that Karina was actually a night-elf and both Saya and Hanabi didn’t interfere, respecting Nana’s decision. Plus Karina could do no harm in her current state so they didn’t see anything wrong with it.

As for Karina herself, she was really embarrassed at her current situation. Being a plush toy for a child was not exactly the most glorious job and it was super embarrassing but at least she was still alive. Nana would talk to her all the time, tell her so much that Karina practically knew what had happened in her entire life because Nana had spilt out all her heart to her and frankly, Karina didn’t knew how to feel.

A part of her despised Nana for what she was putting her through, finding her to be enduring. Yet another part of her could not bring herself to hate her. Nana was a child. An innocent child and she reminded Karina too much of her own long lost sister.

While they were busy with their own talk, Saya too was busy with her own thoughts. She was worried about their situation. She knew that now that they had unknowingly walked into yet another great conflict. As if it was her fate to butt into something greater once in a while. She especially thinks about Alice, she understands that now the Abyssal forces would already have been alerted of her presence and Saya sensed the upcoming storm. Yet still she couldn’t help but hope and wish for the safety of the Demon Queen.

She wonders what exactly had caused them to share such a relation where they cannot come to hate each other but still cannot be with each other at the same time. It all seemed like a cruel joke.

“Saya-chan, are you alright?” Hanabi asks to her out of concern, yet Saya simply brushes her worries off, “I am fine, Neha. I am fine.”

For the rest of the journey, they didn’t talk and kept walking forward. About a few hours later, the hungry and thirsty rabble perked in joy as they heard the distinct sounds of waterfalls. This meant that the City of Moniya was near, thus the people moved faster.

They didn’t reach far however, because they were all suddenly stopped by a group of elven archers. Guards of the city most probably. Their leader, a young elf woman riding a huge smilodon trained her crossbow at them and declared, “This is the land under the Elven Kingdom of Moniya. Take another step and you will regret it!”

The people panicked at this and uttered hushed whispers among themselves but Miya stepped in front of the group with her hands raised and declared, “I am Miya, Priestess of the Moon Goddess from the Temple of Moon. Our Town has been sacked by the forces of the Abyss and we are the last survivors. We seek refuge under the protection of our just King. Please, help us.”

Upon her words, The Gaurds lowered their weapons and the Woman on the giant tiger uttered in sorrow, “You too?”………. 


	52. Irresistible deal

Alice was in her personal tent, sitting before a warm fire while she herself was contemplating what had happened in the past few hours. Their path has crossed once more and it was only in a matter of time before she would meet Saya in a huge conflict and this thought made Alice's stomach churn.

Her report had caused a lot of chaos within the ranks as some were now having second thoughts about their campaign while most were very eager to get their hands on the Slayer of Thamuz. Now, not even her position could save Saya form the Abyssal horde and this fact made Alice curse in frustration.

"Why do you always have to get in the way..." She mumbles in distress.

The Demon queen was so caught up in her own turmoil that she nearly missed the soldier who had been addressing her for the past few minutes.

"My Queen?" he says a bit louder than he normally would, finally breaking Alice's train of thoughts and causing her to look at him in annoyance, "WHAT?"

Her outburst startled the soldier but he kept his control and declared, "The Troops are mobilizing and elders are asking your presence."

His words stunned Alice for a while who stood gaping before finally coming to her senses, "Mobilizing? What for?" she asked in utter shock.

"The siege of Moniya of course. Lady Selena gave the order and would lead the attack herself..."

The Soldier didn't get to speak any further because Alice immediately bolted out of the tent and towards the main war camp.

Barging inside the still in-session Council meeting, Alice speaks or rather roars, "What is the meaning of this?"

The Elders of the council stayed motionless and astonished for a good while because of the sudden intrusion. Selena had been the first one to break out of her shock and answered brightly, "Dear Alice, How nice of you to join us in such an important event!"

Her lax demeanour further enraging Alice, the Blood Demon Queen explodes, "Enough of the nonsense, Why is the army mobilizing?"

"I think the messenger had already made it clear of the purpose at hand, Queen of Apocalypse. We march for the capital at once." Answered an elder at Alice's question.

Knowing that Saya would surely have reached the capital by now, Alice couldn't help to try to stray them away or at least buy her some time, "But we still have yet to gain full control over all the regions of the kingdom, attacking now and failing would mean we could lose all that we work for."

Sadly, only the general was the one who was willing to put her thought into consideration because all the rest were hell bent on going to war. "Wasting any more time would mean giving the elves time to prepare. Plus Lady Selena would be with us this time and we are sure that even the Xeno cannot overpower the Chosen of the Abyss!"

This was a fact that Alice was too scared to admit and frankly, she dreaded the prospect of Saya facing off against Selena. True that Selena was not the Nightstalker, but the Abyssal witch was no push over either. She was titled the Chosen of the Abyss of a reason.

"Please, gentlemen, let's not push Alice too far, she just had a near death encounter and needs a much desired rest." The young night-elf speaks cheerfully and the council stopped nagging Alice. With the work to be done at hand, the elders slowly left the tent to prepare for war, leaving only Selena and Alice alone at the tent.

Humming to herself, Selena moved towards the entrance of the tent while Alice stood speechless and motionless in her place. Once reaching her, the Abyssal Witch speaks maliciously, "Let's see how you protect your precious Xeno now." With that, she left, leaving Alice with a pale face.

Selena's words echoed inside her head a hundred times and it rang alarms within her, causing her to shudder at what the cruel girl had in mind for Saya.

"I must get to her..." Alice mumbles to herself and slowly exited the camp, "I must get to her before she does..." with that Alice took off to the air.

\---X---

The first thing own would notice first and foremost about Moniya was its marvellous splendour, situated at the edge of a majestic waterfall, the entire city was built over several platforms that housed the numerous buildings that made up the city that hanged over the seemingly endless chasm, making it a very difficult place to invade.

The Buildings were made of ivory and gold that shone beautifully under the setting sun as the mist of the waterfall enveloped the city in a thin veil, giving it a magical feel.

Seeing how the city was constructed, the best possible comparison Saya could make was with those overly sophisticated and mechanized cities made by the Vorkens which too would be layered like this elven city. However the key difference she noticed was how the Elven city, although compacted, looked healthy, natural and organised, a far cry from the disorganized, rusty and smoky industrialized heaps of metal that the Vorkens called home.

However, the heavenly appearance of the city didn't mask the grim atmosphere that loomed over it. One of the main reasons would be the fact that the streets of the city was filled with countless elves, wounded, dirty and in pain, it sucked out the liveliness of the city, leaving nothing but a dark and miserable aura.

The Captain of the Guard, who they soon learned to be Irithel, had granted them access to the city and escorted them in as well. Upon seeing the questioning looks of the new comers, she explained, "Your town of The Moon Temple was not the only ones to be attacked. Over the past week, most of the settlements have been sacked and the outer region of Moniya is lost to us." She says grimly, making Miya and Nana gasp while Saya lowered her head solemnly; it was just like what Karina had said.

"If the King knows about this, then why doesn't he send out troops to reclaim the conquered cities?" Miya asked.

However the answer she got was not something anyone had expected. Irithel simply stated, "It's the King's orders. We wait and defend the capital until further orders."

To say this was an absurd idea would be an understatement. Saya knew how wars worked and for a king to just coop up within his castle walls, especially when the enemies is systematically taking out important parts of the kingdom and isolating it, was like giving a blaring invitation to get slaughtered.

Others felt the same too but none rose up to question their king. At least the refugees from the Temple of Moon were given warm food and a shelter to rest so the city was not completely useless. Some loud coughing caught Saya's attention, causing her to break her train of thoughts and look at the source of that sound. What she saw made her heart heavy.

Not only the People of Moon Temple, but several others where there as well. All grieving and mourning their losses and in constant pain, both physically and mentally. In fact, there were more than what the city healers could possibly keep up with.

Seeing such a sight, Saya knew that she would not be able to sit idly by. Therefore, she immediately stood up and brought up her medical supplies. She has works to do.

\---X---

Hanabi had never felt such a strong desire to help someone else after seeing the state the elves were in right now. Far from home that was taken from them, struggling with their injuries while still drowning in sorrow of loss, her heart wanted to reach out for them. That was the reason why when Saya, characteristically when ahead to help these people in need, she too stepped forward to help them even if her knowledge in the healing arts was quite lacking.

Saya had been the most thrilled when Hanabi had offered to help as well. True that she might have been her student, Saya had not opted to train Hanabi to be a good healer, something that was unorthodox, seeing that one of the core beliefs of the Hrontre'haare is, 'To inflict wounds as good as they could heal them.'

Her teacher had dismissed that it as it would taken too much time and had jumped straight to the combat process, even if Saya didn't actually liked it, but to see Hanabi genuinely interested in learning about it made her heart swell in joy.

The Elves were the most shocked when Saya and Hanabi came over with several jars of ointment and bandages and started patching up the people who didn't had the luxury to be looked after by the city physician, who themselves where very busy with their own handful of patients.

At first, they were a bit sceptical about them, but as they kept working to ease the pain and suffering of the people, The Elves came to trust them. Saya's simple but easily learnable techniques came in handy to Hanabi as she worked along with Saya, who would give her instructions now and then how to handle each and every type of ailments one by one.

Her descriptions were vivid and remember able, telling Hanabi the importance of each and every part of the body, how it affected the overall function of the person. How to use that knowledge to help the person and when the situation comes, how to use the said knowledge as an advantage in a battle.

As they worked tirelessly to help the wounded citizens, Saya had been keeping a keen eyes around her ever since. It was no surprise that the elves eventually found out about who she was, considering how far reaching her fame had grown.

This caused the general public to be more grateful of her and her student for their generous help. So naturally, it was no surprise when during the evening; a small contingency of guards came over to them while they were working and declared, "Would, Lady Saya Mahira please come with us? King Estes asks for your presence."

The request was a bit sudden but considering Saya's reputation, it was understandable that the King would finally want to speak with The Slayer of Lava lord, however, she was still to discover the true nature of the invitation so Saya still had a tiny bit of suspension.

She asked Hanabi to keep helping in her stead while she went along with the guards to see what the King had in store for her.

\---X---

The Great Castle of Moniya was as majestic as the city itself and Saya couldn't help but awe at its grandeur. The design was sleek and elegant, the likes Saya had never seen before and it fascinated her. She even wonders how her kind would have interacted with these elves, how the exchange of cultures would have influenced both of them. Alas, she would never be able to find out.

Guards led her inside the castle and directly into the throne room. There sitting upon the grand throne was the King. He had silver hair and glowing eyes, and his wardrobe was an exquisite rode of blue and gold. His face was tranquil and his eyes shined with wisdom, while his lips held a serene smile.

"Slayer of the Lava lord, how intriguing that fate would make it so that our paths cross is such trying times." He says in a calm voice.

"Let's just say that fate loves playing tricks on me, Great King." Saya speaks back with a respectful bow. Estes stood up from his throne and walked towards her as Saya stood still. The Elf king looked upon her with judgemental eyes, analyzing her entirety as if she was a race horse that he would be betting on, something that Saya found to be really annoying and unsettling.

"You are taller than I had imagined."

Saya rolled her eyes at this, but still kept her respectful tone, "Any particular reason why have you called me here, King?"

Estes swiftly apologised for his intrusive behaviour and says, "Pardon me. If it isn't a bother, please do hear about what I have to say to you."

His request made her curious, thus Saya agreed. The two left the throne room and walked through the castle ground as Estes explained.

"As you can see, the situation of my kingdom is dire...." Estes speaks but Saya added as well, much to the king's surprise, "I noticed. And I also noticed how your plan is holding." The Sai'ore says lowly, making Estes' eyes widen in shock.

"The City has more than enough forces to spare. They could have been utilized to launch a counter attack against the Abyssal forces, but instead of that, you are just gathering forces and waiting. Tell me King, What exactly do you plan?"

Saya's piercing gaze made Estes gulp nervously. It was clear that Saya was upset about his seemingly careless decision, but still he stood his ground, "How we handle our internal matters is entirely up to us, Miss Saya. You would not understand, but we cannot afford to lose this city. Not at any cost."

The answer he provided didn't set well with Saya. To think that a ruler of a kingdom would do something such as this was utterly disgusting, holding on to a place of power while the citizens suffered. It angered her. True Saya had been a stern ruler in her time, but she had always kept the needs of her people as top priority. They were her children, and she was their mother. Her duty was to provide and protect, and seeing how Estes was failing to protect sickened her.

Here she understood that the capital could no longer provide the safety that she had hoped it would provide, so she planned that she would gather her flock, and leave at dawn. A war was coming and it was clear to her that the capital would not be able to hold their own, not when their leader was as such.

Seeing no more reasons to stick further, Saya was ready to excuse herself and leave, but Estes pleaded, "Wait, I have a proposition for you, Help me defend my kingdom!"

Saya stopped at this and looked at him with an unreadable expression, "Your reputation tells a lot about you and having you on our side would greatly boost the moral and our surviving chances. Please, help us and you will be rewarded."

Upon hearing his words, Saya couldn't help but burst out laughing, making Estes really confused.

After a good while, the ancient Sai'ore controlled herself and asked, "Oh Great King, do you take me for a mercenary? Tell me a reason why should a fight for a ruler who refuses to fight for the fate for his own kingdom?"

The way she said those words made Estes tremble as the Sai'ore loomed over him dangerously. He could see that she had really offended her with his words and surprisingly, seeing her so angry terrified him.

"You must understand, the City must not fall! There are things here which cannot fall into the hands of the abyss. Please, I will give you anything!" Estes practically begged, making Saya scoff. "There is nothing you have that I want."

With that, the ancient Sai'ore walked away, her decision taken; she would leave this city along with her flock for she will not risk them for a fight that was not hers.

"What if I told you that there is a way?" his words made Saya halt. She slowly turned towards him and spoke lowly, "Beg your pardon?"

Now that Estes has her full attention, he speaks further, "Your human friend, it's not exactly a secret that she is precious to you. But you do realize that humans have far shorter lifespan?"

The ancient Sai'ore lowered her head at this. Of course she knew this and the revelation was painful as always. "You don't have to remind me...."

Knowing that it was probably the only way, Estes took a deep breath and offered, "What if I told you that there is in fact a way to make her life everlasting?"

Saya's eyes widened at this and looked at Estes with disbelief. "Impossible..." she mumbles. There had been countless times in her past where she had tried to use the power of science to do so, and the closest her kind had come to was to extend the life expectancy of their kind by double, but that's it. Her loved ones would die eventually, so it was only postponing Saya's inevitable despair.

"The Magic of the Land of Dawn is incredible. It can make the impossible possible..." States Estes confidently, "So, do we have a deal?"

\---X---

It was deep in the night when Saya had woke up from her sleep. They, along with several refugees were provided with bedrolls and camps to stay as the usual quarters for the refugees was already flooded with people. Hanabi had been fast asleep beside her after working tirelessly to help the people thus was totally engrossed in her well deserved rest. In fact most of the people were currently asleep, except for a few exceptions like the patrolling guards and surprisingly Nana, who was humming to herself by the fire place.

The conversation with King Estes still lingered within her mind, so sleep had completely been lost to her. Taking care not to wake Hanabi up, Saya slowly got out of their bedroll and went out for a stroll.

The Pale moon illuminated the empty paths of the city as Saya wandered aimlessly while thinking to herself.

'Could this be done? Could I make Hanabi immortal?'

This was still too good to be true for Saya to believe so she was in fact a bit sceptical about the promises that Estes was making, but that didn't mean that Saya's didn't feel a flicker of hope igniting within her.

'What if he is telling the truth? Wouldn't being able to spend eternity with the girl I love be too good of a bargain?'

Of course Saya knew that she would take the bargain, but still she worried what if the plan failed and the so called method didn't work.

These things really bugged Saya, thus she could not sleep at all.

Lost in thought, Saya looked up into the pale moon and let out a breath, "I really hope this works."

To her surprise, she suddenly heard voices of the guards down below who were chasing someone insensibly.

"Get her; she was sneaking into the city!"

Thunderous footsteps crackled on the stone path as a dozen guards pursued the figure that had trespassed into the city. Saya shook her head and was about to leave the area to avoid trouble. That was until the guards eventually caught their target and the victim roared, "Let go of me you filth!"

Hearing the familiar voice sent chills down Saya as she immediately looked below her platform and found out that it was none other than Alice who was being dog piled and chained by the guards. Upon seeing such a sight, Saya could only frown in worry, "What are you doing, Alice?".............. 


	53. Irrational emotions

Karina still asks herself, how was it that she had ended up in such a situation. Ever since she had been transformed into the cat-rabbit by Nana, the young cat-elf has refused to let go of her and the assassin had no idea how to react to this.

On the bright side, she was kinda glad because honestly, she didn’t want to find out what the other Moon Elves would do if they ever found out about her true nature. However, she doubts being a personal toy in the hands of a child was any better.

Nana had practically adopted her and took her to the heart of her enemy’s territory via a route that had been unknown even to her kind. The knowledge about the Hidden roads of the Magical Forest was undiscovered by the Night-Elves. That explained how the Elven forces had always been able to move around the forest with relative ease without the Night-elves noticing and frankly, Karina really felt ashamed that this fact had gone unnoticed by her kin till now.

All the while Nana never left her side, keeping her close and making sure she didn’t make any attempt to escape. She did however keep very good care of her, saved her from the Moon-Elves and fed her well. Currently, she was before a bonfire in the middle of the city while Nana was gently brushing her purple fur. It was quite late at night and Karina wondered why Nana had not gone to sleep by now. However she didn’t complain, not that she was in any position to complain anyways but still, the reason why Karina didn’t mind her company was because how Nana was gently brushing her fur.

Humming to herself, Nana had been doing this for quite a while now, declaring how dirty she looked and desperately needed a good grooming. Beside the fact that how sinfully enjoyable it was, Karina also couldn’t help but feel nostalgia swell up within her.

The Night-Elf assassin remembers long ago when her sister would brush her hair like so after every bath. It reminded her too much of her sister Selena and the pain that came with the reminder nearly overwhelmed her.

Karina took a deep breath and speaks all of a sudden, “Nana…” The little girl replied with a small hum and Karina continues, “You know that you cannot keep doing this right? Your magic will wear off eventually and when that happens, the Moon-Elves will arrest me.”

“Don’t worry, they will not.” Nana says softly, making Karina to turn towards her to face the child. Nana looked tired, so very tired.

How would she not be, when all this while she had been concentrating her powers to keep Karina hidden without rest?

This revelation stunned Karina as she looked at Nana with wide eyes.

But it was clear that she had been straining. Nana looked worn and she was barely holding up, thus Karina couldn’t help but ask, “Why? …... Why are you doing this?”

To this, Nana gave a small and tired smile, “I know you are a good person, Karina. And I don’t want to see my friends get hurt.”

Her words should have been considered that of a mad person. To think someone would consider their enemy to be a friend. It was utterly foolish and naïve, but still, Karina couldn’t help but feel grateful.

Nana had told Karina of her life and she knows how Nana had been all by herself in the forest most of her life. Alone and without company, it was only until she met Miya one day when the priestess was still a child was when Nana had made her first friend.

But Cat-elves matured much slower than either of the moon elves and the Night-elves and when Miya was an adult, she became more and more engrossed in her own duties as a Priestess, unintentionally leaving Nana all alone once again.

So, could Karina really blame the child for seeking a friend? Abet in the wrong place?

Karina gently placed her paw upon Nana and said softly, “You’re tired. Sleep.”

The Child protested vigorously, “I can’t. If I sleep, you will turn back!” Nana says but from the looks of her condition, she was nearing her limit. She was just too tired and was barely able to stay awake.

Giving her a gentle smile, Karina says reassuringly, “It will be fine, Nana. It will be fine.”

Knowing the consequences of what would happen if Nana sleeps, the child hugged Karina one last time, shedding tears and muffled sobs knowing fully that this would probably be the last time she would ever see Karina.

The Transformed Night-elf in turn hugged Nana back the best she could with her tiny arms.

It didn’t take long for the child to fall fast asleep. As soon as that happened, a pink smoke enveloped Karina and she was back in her original form and Nana lay sleeping peacefully on her lap and her heart swelled at this. Knowing that the guards would eventually come for her, she simply hugged Nana, deciding to enjoy the last few moments with her friend before the inevitable would happen.

\---X---

To be honest, Saya whole heartedly knows that what she was doing was perhaps the worse decision she had made ever since she arrived on this planet and by now, she had already given up trying to reason or justify her actions, especially when it concerned a certain sliver haired demonic beauty whom she madly cared for.

That is the reason why we find the Sai’ore trying to break into the castle, more specifically, the dungeon where the guards had taken Alice. Sneaking had been something that Saya never really liked; she was a warrior who rather preferred to handle her problems head one. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t flexible enough to adapt to this more indirect and cowardly approach, especially when the situation called for it.

The Palace was huge and crawling with guards, so Saya knew that going through the Elves would most certainly not be the best course of action, especially when her flock was still residing under the Elven Empire’s domain, thus she needed a more subtle approach.

The northern side of the Palace faced directly towards the Great Waterfalls and was left quite bare. This side of the palace was very steep and obviously was the worse place to infiltrate the palace because one mistake would mean falling to your death, but since this was the only place that had next to no patrol, Saya had little choice in the matter.

Utilizing various fissures, bricks and anything by which Saya could make a firm grip was used as handholds that help her climb all the way up the Palace’s top where the dungeon was located.

Saya entered the Palace proper via a balcony. Here her heightened sense of hearing and vision came the most handy as she sneaked throughout the Palace hallways whilst avoiding conflict at all costs, something which wasn’t that hard considering how she would hear the approaching guards far before they approached her.

It took her a good while to find the dungeon due to her lack of knowledge about the palace layout but she reached her destination nonetheless.

The Dungeons were a striking contrast from the rest of the castle, a downright opposite of the pleasant white and golden marble hallways which was replaced with dark, murky cobble stones. But the change of aesthetics didn’t concern Saya because she still had to push on further if she was to find what she was looking for.

The main prison area was actually a very enormous chamber with several cells embedded within the wall. One such cage housed Alice and the condition she was in right now shocked Saya. She lay on the ground, weak and defeated while her body was covered in dirt and bruises, indicating that the guards had been very rough while handling her and seeing her in such a state made Saya’s blood boil in anger.

\---X---

To say that her plan went terrible would be a huge understatement. Alice had convinced herself that it would be a simple mission. Sneak into the city, find Saya, warn her of the incoming assault and convince her to flee the city then return back to the base. Simple as that and nothing else.

However what she didn’t count for was that the city had its own set of magical alarm system that alerted them of any trespassers. She was instantly discovered and captured. The Elven mages had been through to suck out all of the mana from her body, rendering her virtually helpless as she could no longer summon her blood magic now.

The Elven guards had been glaring at her in spiteful disgust and anger, probably contemplating why they had not killed the abomination already, making Alice chuckle. Her short stay with Saya had made her completely forget what the world saw her as; an abomination to be shunned and hated, unworthy of being regarded with love and acceptance like her beloved Xeno would show her. This was a reminder for Alice. A reminder of truth about her true nature and also a reminder why was it so important for her to keep Saya safe. Her only heaven from all the hate the world had for her.

The guards gave way as their king now stood before her cell with a cold expression, very different form his normal serene expression.

Letting out a small but smug smile, Alice spoke, “Missed me?”

“Enough games, Alice….” He says in a ‘No nonsense’ tone, “Why have you come here? Do you have a death wish?”

“Perhaps yes, perhaps no. Wouldn’t you like to know, Little King?” she says in a sing song voice, further angering Estes.

The King walks closer to the cell and grabs the metal bar of the cage. Narrowing his eyes, he hisses. “You are after the hidden Knowledge aren’t you? That’s what your unholy kind has been after for all these years!”

“So this is where it has been hiding all this time? Damn, had I known this sooner, we would have saved so much time. Scouring every town we decimated takes time, you see.” Alice says nonchalantly, making all the elves in the area to instantly lose their temper.

Glaring at her intensely, Estes says lowly, “What makes you think that I will not kill you right now?”

At this, Alice smiles and states confidently, “Oh Please. You know why.” Her words making everyone confused but King Estes just stood frozen for a while. Seeing how shocked their king was, the guards voiced their concerns, “My King?”

Upon hearing his name, the Elf King snapped out of his trench. Looking at Alice straight in the eye, he growls, “You no longer hold power over me, Demon.” With that he turns around and walks away, “You will be executed publicly tomorrow. The world deserves to see your demise for all the sins you have committed.”

With that he leaves the area, leaving the injured Alice in her cell all alone with two guards making sure she didn’t try anything and a eavesdropper who was about to spring into action.

\---X---

Alice huffed to herself. This sucked because now she would be executed for all her troubles and only this time, there was no one else who would come to her rescue.

The Two guards stood rigid and motionless, really taking their duty very seriously and didn’t respond to Alice even when she tried to provoke any sort of response from them. She eventually gave up and lay down on the ground. Alice had at least hoped that she would get some entertainment before she died tomorrow, but looks like her luck said otherwise. She ponders whether she might be able to catch a glimpse of Saya within the crowd tomorrow. She wonders how her beloved would react,

Would she be shocked?

Angry?

Or even care at all?  
Alice knew not, but she does knows that time will tell the answer very soon.

She refused to sleep as sleeping would mean her death would only be closer so she utilized this time to ponder on her life. Thinking how it could have been different, especially the part where she could have chosen to just take Saya’s hand and never let go.

While she was engrossed in her thoughts, she failed to see what had really happened but all she heard was a few sounds and the two guards suddenly fell on the ground unconscious.

Her cell door was opened and in came a figure that Alice had least expected to see.

No being able to believe her eyes, Alice Stood gaping for a while before asking softly, “Saya?”……… 


	54. A demon's tears

Just like as she had planned, Saya was in fact successfully able to infiltrate the restricted parts of the castle and reach her destination without alerting any suspicion. Even the two guards were easily taken cared by her and now, the only thing that remained was confronting Alice. However, this part was the exact part where Saya had no idea what to do next. Partially because in all honesty, Saya had doubted that she would reach this far and there was also this thick air of tension and awkwardness between them.

There was no denying that this was due to Alice’s actions back in the desert, leaving a sort of soar strain in their relation. But that was not enough to overshadow their obvious concern for each other.

Another such evidence to this was when Alice tried to stand up to face Saya, her weak legs immediately gave way. But before she would have pummelled back to the hard ground, Saya immediately rushed forward and held her, preventing her fall.

Saya looked the Blood Demon Queen in her arms, The Elves had done a number on her and the condition Alice was in right now really angered her. But this was not the time to be vengeful, not when her most important concern was the woman in her arms.

The Sai’ore regretted not bringing her medical supplies. Although it would have been encumber some, she could have at least performed some first aids. Yet this didn’t mean everything was hopeless. Saya had been studying this new world she was in ever since she had arrived, especially during their brief stays in various settlements from time to time. Thus unsurprisingly, she had come across information about the various known species of Land of Dawn, Blood Demons included. She remember how she rolled her eyes when upon reading through these books, she had noticed how these species were deemed ‘Evil’ and ‘Unholy’ by the Church of Light and had been thoroughly demonized with pointless and extreme exaggeration. But Saya did learn a few things however.

Blood Demons have the ability to heal and rejuvenate by consuming blood of any kind.

Knowing that this probably is the only way right now, Saya let out a sigh.

Alice was genuinely surprised when Saya exposed her neck to her and said, “Drink.”

Considering how overly jumpy, defensive and downright hurt Saya feel when the Blood Demon Queen would try to drink her blood. This was because whenever she would, Saya would be hit with this depressing thought that all she was to the demoness was a food source, something that Alice understood without a word and had tried to refrain from doing so, but she couldn’t resist for long. The warmth of the skin and the blood underneath it beckoned her, plus the musky scent that she could sense due to Saya being so close was driving her crazy.

Slowly, Alice inched closer to Saya, causing the other woman to turn bright red was the Blood Demoness’s hot breath felt upon her exposed skin, making her bite her lip in anticipation. Alice gently nuzzled Saya’s soft skin before sinking her fangs into her flesh.

Saya bit back a squeak as the bite drew blood, which Alice sucked greedily while savouring each and every drop. Her eyes widened as Saya’s blood started having its effects on Alice. The same foreign power that she had tasted so many days before, only this time, it was potent, making Alice realize just how powerful it was. Like a very addictive drug, it took hold of her and Alice felt like as if she was literally seeing stars, the very realm that Saya belonged to.

Fearing what overdoes could do to her; Saya took hold of Alice and pried her away from herself, finally pulling the demoness out of her trench and the two starred at each other.

Slowly a smile graced on Alice’s face. She gently reached out and touched Saya’s face, “You came for me.”

However, Saya didn’t reply and turned the other way, refusing to face Alice. This made the silver haired beauty to frown as Saya seemingly looked upset out of the blue.

“Darling?” Alice voiced once more as she tried to face Saya, but the tall woman stubbornly refused to face her. Knowing that this isn’t progressing anywhere, Alice moved in front of Saya and faced her directly. What she saw was unexpected.

Saya Mahira, the Great Saviour of Mossenia, The Slayer of the Lava Lord, was pouting angrily while trying to look away.

For a moment, Alice didn’t know how to react. Eventually Alice returned to her senses and giggled softly, thoroughly amused that someone like Saya would behave like that and honestly the Blood Demoness found it to be very adorable. Offended even more by her laughter, Saya faced away with puffed cheeks, causing Alice to nearly have a heart attack. Still giggling, Alice hugged Saya, making the tall woman blush even more because of the overly forward and intimate gesture.

“Thank you.” Alice says softly and genuinely, causing Saya to melt all over again, but determined to not give in so easily, she mumbles grumpily, “I am still mad at you.”

Having a pretty good idea as it what Saya was referring to, Alice cringed. It was only natural that Saya would have been hurt by her actions. Knowing that she needed to explain herself properly, Alice took a hold of Saya’s hands. “Forgive me, Darling. But I had no other choice, it was the only way I could protect you from the Abyss.”

Having a vague idea of the reason behind Alice’s actions really did soothe much of the anger and pain within Saya’s heart. Knowing that all she did was out of concern made things better. Further evidence to this was when Saya noticed that Alice still had the scarf that Saya had left back in the desert, proving the genuine nature of Alice’s words. However that didn’t mean she had totally forgiven her, so Saya remarks flatly, “And how is that working out?”

The Demon Queen sulked at this and said in a tired voice, “Terrible, absolutely terrible. The Abyssal council is nothing but a bunch of over grown children and you have no idea how much I had to argue to make sure that they don’t send forces after your arse. Then again…” Now Alice looked at Saya sharply with squinted eyes, “You had be a Miss Goodie-two-shoe and play hero, jumping right into the middle of the war from where I am trying to keep you away from…..Like seriously, again?”

Saya smiled nervously at this and replied, “In my defence, it was Hanabi’s idea.”

Alice glared at her for a good while, before it died down eventually. Even she knew that she could not be angry at her Xeno for too long. Especially when she noticed that even after all these while, Saya still held on to the Winter Truncheon amulet that she had gifted her. It made her heart flutter, thus she did the only thing that she could think of. Alice gave Saya a big hug, whilst mumbling, “Stupid Xeno, always meddling in our plans. You’re so lucky that I like you. By the abyss, why are you so stubborn? What will I do if something happens to you…”And thus she kept rambling in frustration and Saya simply hugged her back with an awkward smile.

It was very peculiar, this relation that they shared, caring for one another when they were actually supposed to hate each other. Things would have been far simple if they had just stayed enemies. But now, they didn’t know. This relation, they had no idea where this sort of relation would take them and they had already gone too far to able to turn back. Both knew in their mind that such thing was impossible and irrational. But then again, such small moments that they shared together time by time almost made it up for it. Perhaps, they both were outta their mind, yet still that didn’t stop them.

The two stayed together like that in each other’s arms for a good while, enjoying the closeness as much as they could considering that they might never get such opportunity ever again.

Slowly they parted form their embrace and looked in each other’s eyes. Green met violet, as the two simply found themselves lost in the windows of each other’s souls. No words formed in either’s lips as they simply gazed on. All this, they both don’t know how long could they keep this up, especially when there seemed to be no future for the two of them.

It made Saya sad. Cursing fate for putting into this situation in the first place, she lets out a sigh and speaks, “You should not have come here.”

This Alice knows. She knows very well that she should not have when she had no obligations to do. She should have just stayed back as the soldiers marched forwards and decimated this city while Saya was still in it. Alas, she couldn’t, not when first time in her long life, her un-beating cold heart was telling, no demanding her to make sure Saya was safe.

Remembering why she had come here in the first place, Alice says in a serious voice, “This place is not safe anymore. As we speak, the Abyssal forces are marching towards this place and will arrive at any moment. Please, Saya we need to leave now!”

True that Saya was expecting that the Abyssal forces would have come for them eventually, but she never imagined that they would have done it so fast. Seeing the urgency in Alice’s eyes, it was also clear that she wasn’t lying either, the forces were close and time was fleeting.

Yet, Saya knows that she cannot go. Not now when she still has her own goals, “I cannot. I cannot leave just now.”

\---X---

Miya had no idea what to feel right now. One moment she had been sleeping and the next she had woke up to get some water. She looked over all the refugees once to make sure everyone was okay and it was when she saw it.

There sitting over the the fire was a night-elf. The very notion shocked her, but the fact that Nana had been asleep on the night-elf’s lap was terrifying.

Grabbing her bow, Miya rushed forward towards their direction. Fearing what that evil elf might have done to her little friend. To her surprise however, the night-elf merely turned back towards her and without any sort of hostility, shushed her while pointing at the sleeping form of Nana.

Gently taking a hold of her, the night-elf handed Nana over to Miya, who had been eyeing her with confusion the whole time. Soon the guards came over and put the night-elf in chains. However, she made no efforts to fight back and complied to cooperate without hesitation.

She did however, looked one last time towards Miya and said loud enough so that she could hear her, “Take care of her.” These were her parting words as the guards took her away, leaving Miya with extremely conflicted feeling.

Night-elves and Moon-elves never got along. Their beliefs were just incompatible, yet Miya couldn’t help but detect genuine concern for Nana’s well being in the Night-elf’s voice. Many questions rose within her mind, but those answers could only be given by Nana, who was still sleeping and Miya didn’t had the heart to wake her up. Especially when she had no knowledge of how the cat-elf would react when she learns what happened to the Night-elf.

The Priestess sighed to herself and sat back heavily before the bonfire. Nana lay sleeping in a small bedroll beside her and Miya gently stroke her bubblegum pink hair.

‘Poor girl.’ She thinks. Although about nearly of the same age, Miya had matured considerably then the two of them. This meant that she could not spend as much time with her, yet still she misses those days when the two were both young together. Carefree and energetic, Miya misses those time since now; she had changed while Nana was still pretty much the same.

As she was just sitting by the fire, she couldn’t help but over hear the guards talking to each other, “Did you hear that they caught a Blood Demon trying to snoop around the city?” Says a Guard, to which his friend replies, “Yes indeed. They were able to capture her in time, but this doesn’t sound good. Even recently we caught a Night-elf by the refugee area. I can’t help but sense that things will only get worse.” His voice grim and serious.

“Well, this sucks….” The guard sulks, “At least we have the Slayer of Lava lord on our side. She was able to turn the tide of a lost battle in Mossenia from what I hear. Surely she can help us too.”

However, to this his sceptical friend says back, “Are you sure that she would fight for us? From what I hear, she doesn’t agree with the King.”

“That’s certainly true, but The King has found a way to….Bribe her. I mean, who would refuse immortality?” the guard laughed, making his friend and Miya to gasp in shock.

“Wait….. Is King Estes seriously gonna send her after ‘THAT’?” the man says with absolute disbelief.

Miya didn’t hear more than that but what she did know is that it wasn’t good. “No one has ever been able to lay claim on ‘THAT’. None have survived.”

The priestess didn’t like this, especially since she could sense that something was about to go horribly wrong.

\---X---

Frankly, Alice had anticipated that Saya would be hard to convince, so she wasn’t exactly surprised by that answer. Still it didn’t mean that it didn’t annoy her, so Alice sighed, “Okay, I understand that you don’t want to leave that little human girl…”

“Her name is Hanabi.” corrected Saya defensively while folding her arms, reminding Alice just how important that human meant for Saya. It really annoyed her and filled her with envy, another emotion that she hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

Groaning in annoyance, Alice speaks tiredly, “Fine, your ‘Hanabi’. You can bring her along as well. But quickly, the army will be here at any moment.”

With that, Alice held Saya’s hand and pulled her out of the cage but halted when she realized that Saya was not bulging from her place. Alice frowned at this and asked, “What’s wrong, Darling?”

Saya looked at her with apologetic eyes and says lowly, “I am sorry. But I cannot.”

Now this really surprised Alice. She looked at her in disbelief, “Don’t tell me that you are seriously gonna risk your’s and your ‘Hanabi’s’ life for this city??” Alice yelled heatedly

The Sai’ore flinched at this because somewhere, Alice was right. She wasn’t worried of her own well being, but jeopardizing Hanabi’s safety was not something she wanted to do. But then again, the deal Estes had for her was too good to let go.

“No, but I cannot leave. This is my only chance…”

“Chance for what? To be a hero again? Are you really so selfish!” Alice roars, making Saya lower her head in shame.

Suddenly, the blood demoness held Saya’s hands. Holding it firmly, Alice makes Saya look at her. “Please…” a chill went down Saya’s body because right now, she was seeing tears being shed by Alice. With broken voice, she practically begs, “Please for your sake, for my sake, if not for the sake of that ‘Hanabi’. Please, my love. Come with me.”

Saya was considered a strong woman by countless people, but she was not brave enough to see people cry, especially those whom she cared for.

Alice reminded her of her blunder, her mistake. How foolish and selfish her action was, but thanks her, Saya understands. The wellbeing of her flock was her first priority and Saya intends to keep it that way. Reaching out, Saya tenderly wiped away Alice’s tears and pecked her forehead affectionately. “Forgive me, Meha Kari. I was blinded. Let’s go…”

However, just before Alice could celebrate her victory, a few guards came into the prison chamber, escorting a chained Night-elf that Saya immediately recognised as the one Nana had hexed.

The two parties looked at each other for a good while. Coming back to their senses, the guards reacted instantly and violently. Drawing their weapons, they charged head on without giving them a chance to reason.

Luckily, Alice, who was now in her top condition due to Saya’s blood, was fast enough to react in time and cast a spell towards them. Probably Saya’s blood had worked too well because Alice’s powers had become much more potent and the guards were knocked out in a single hit of Alice’s basic spell.

“We should leave.” Suggests Alice, to which Saya agreed and unknown to them, Karina, who had been freed of the clutches of the guards, used the opportunity to flee.

“This way!” Saya yell as she led Alice through the way she had came into the dungeon. Their plan was to reach the palace exterior where Alice could utilize her wings to the fullest. However, they didn’t go far because on their way a contingency of Guard led by Irithel was waiting for them.

The Guards gave way and King Estes emerged from the crowd as well and he didn’t look happy. Things were getting better and better………….


	55. Unveiled

**(I ask myself why am I even doing this when no one even reads this story XD. This one is long chapter folks)**

The two parties looked at each other with calculative eyes. The tension was thick and everyone stood deadly still, daring the either side to make the first move while they all readied themselves because it was crystal clear that things were about to get ugly very soon.

After what felt like an eternity of glaring form either sides, Estes was the first to break from the silence. “Does your devilry know no bounds, Demon? To come in our own sacred home and corrupt our only hope with your seduction?” the king hissed hatefully addressing Alice.

Answering this Alice glared back with equal malice, “Stand aside, Little King, I have no interest in killing you right now. I am sure you already had enough problems to deal with anyways.”

As in queue, alarms all over the city screamed loudly as fire balls descended upon the city, signalling them of the invasion that had already begun. Estes’ eyes widened in horror at this, and then his shock turned into anger.   
“You led them here! Guards, strike her down!” he commands vengefully and his soldiers acted immediately.

However, before they could even reach Alice, Saya immediately blocked their way, surprising everyone. There were about five guards in total that had charged head on towards them and the one in the lead had opted to try a thrust. Saya easily bypassed it by taking a hold of his wrist and threw him over towards his other comrade. Another one shared even worse fate because when he tried to attack Saya instead of Alice; the Sai’ore retaliated by disarming the soldier and smashing the pommel of his own sword on his face, knocking him out completely.

She then immediately danced out of the way of another thrust and deflected a slash from the two guards who tried to double team her but quickly learned the errors of their ways when she smacked one guard away and threw the other guard over her shoulder by utilizing the guard’s own momentum against him when he tried to land a clumsy hit on her and ended up screwing his poise.

All of them ended up as a pile of bodies that were fortunately not dead, but were moaning and groaning in pain due to the thrashing they just received.

Seeing how her comrades were brutally beaten, Irithel got really angry and immediately readied her deadly crossbow. But before she could fire, Estes stopped her.

When she looked at the King in a questioning manner, he answers solemnly, “Don’t harm her, The Demon has her under a spell. She isn’t in her own senses, we must save her.”

Facing fully towards Saya, Estes says passionately, “You have to snap out of it, Saya, She has a hold of your mind! I know it’s hard but you have to resist it, don’t let her control you!”

His words caused Alice to scoff. To think that he would even consider that she would be controlling Saya was laughable. Saya followed her and loved by her own will, thus Alice had no need to use her charm on her (Plus it had failed anyways)

“This is just a waste of time. Come, Darling.” She says and reached out to Saya. Imagine her surprise when she saw the conflicted look in Saya’s eyes. She didn’t know why but that small look of uncertainty in Saya’s eyes sent such pain in her heart that it was almost unbearable.

Oblivious of Alice’s hurt expression, Saya just looked at Estes and questioned, “What do mean? How do you know this?”

Estes lowered his head in shame as ancient and humiliating memories flooded his mind. He knew that what he was about to disclose was something that he doesn’t wanted to be reminded of but still, if he wanted Saya to be on his side, he had to.

“I was once her pawn as well.” he confesses, causing everyone to gasp in shock. He even exposed his neck where a faint scar of two fang marks was still faintly visible.

“I know what it feels like. I know what she says….” He mumbles as Saya kept listening. His eyes showing nothing but shame and sincerity as he confesses, “I was bewitched by her too………. Long-long ago. And I was never anything but a pawn.”

Hearing enough of his nonsense, Alice roars out, “You were worthless then and you are even now! You cannot even fight your own wars when the battle is happening at your own door step!” as she said this, the distinct sounds of battle could be heard from down below, making them realize just how dire the situation was elsewhere. “We don’t have time for this, we need to leave!” Alice yells and tries to move her Xeno, but Saya didn’t bulge, much to the demoness’ surprise and horror. She kept on listening as Estes kept on talking.

“I know what how good it feels…”, he says lowly

“Shut it!”, Alice growls

“How sweet her words sounds, how her voice feels like honey…” Estes continues.

“I said shut it!”, Alice practically roars.

“And how she makes you feel like you are the most important thing in the world… But it’s all lies”, Estes yells heatedly.

“How dare you!”

“She doesn’t love anyone! She is nothing but a fraud, a trickster! Only looking for a way to further her own goals!”

“Don’t listen to him!”

“You are stronger than this, Saya! You must snap out of this!”

His words impacted Saya heavily. So much that it actually forced her to reconsider her actions. The allure the Alice had was not something that she didn’t know about. But Saya had always thought that she was able to resist it, or did she?

The Nature of such mind altering spells is so that the victim never truly knows that they are being controlled. What if she had never resisted Alice’s lure at all?

Was all the moments that they spent, all the passions and affection that they shared nothing but an act? An illusion?

Saya didn’t know the answer now, because now she was starting to doubt all that had happened. What if Estes was true? What if she was really under control all this time? 

Estes smiled triumphantly while Alice gasped in horror as Saya’s inner conflict was now visible. Her face was twisted in a frown as Saya desperately tried to separate what was true and what was false.

“It’s over, Demon! Your hold over the Slayer is fleeting! Now you will face your judgement when she will come to her senses!” Estes declared proudly, but his words fell on deaf ears.

Alice, more concerned about Saya’s well being rushed before her with no speck of worry that by doing so, she was putting herself in danger by turning her back to the enemies. She could see that Saya was in pain, she was torn between the thin line of what is truth and lie and Alice couldn’t stand it.

She cupped Saya’s face with both her hands and looked her straight in eyes. Never had Alice been so desperate to be believed in her entire life, so she holds the woman she loves and says softly, “It’s real, it’s all real.”

Estes stood stunned in his place when he heard Alice’s broken voice. He had true believed that he had seen every aspect of Alice back when he was still under her spell, her sadistic, her flirty, her angry and many others. But never had he witnessed this side of her. Never had he heard her be so vulnerable, so truthful.

Pouring her entire emotions, Alice embraced Saya, causing her eyes to widen. “Please, believe me…”

Convincing others that you are telling the truth when your profession requires you to always lie was a herculean task. Such was for Alice’s case who had nothing to prove her love except for her words.

Slowly, Saya returned the hug and replied, “I believe you.”

Alice’s heart jumped at this and an overwhelming sense of joy filled her and she looked up at Saya with absolute happiness. However, Irithel had seen enough of this drama and was losing her patients.

Without a warning she shot a crossbow bolt towards Alice just so she could get rid of the vile demoness from the face of this world.

Saya saw this coming however and on instinct, she held Alice and moved her out of the way. But that crossbow bolt was no ordinary one, thus when it hit Saya, it exploded. The Blast was so powerful that it hurled both Saya and Alice out of the window, breaking it instantly as they tumbled down the balcony.

Irithel cursed at this and looked upon Este, “My King what are your orders?”

To her surprise however, Estes didn’t say a word and stood gaping on his place.

“Sir?” she asks again but instead of answering her, Estes simple walked away without a word as if his entire senses had been disabled.

“What the hell?” the other guards exclaims.

“The king as lost it! What do we do now?”

Realizing that the King was probably not going to be of any help and the fact that the city was under attack, Irithel growled and barks loudly, “Alright guys, gather along! We have a city to defend!”

“But what of the Blood Demon?”

“Let them be, we have more pressing matters!” Irithel hissed and lead the soldiers away.

\---X---

Alice had no idea how it happened because it had happened so fast but one moment she was hugging Saya and the other, an explosion occurred and both of them where thrown out of the window. Involuntarily, Saya pulled Alice close to her body and tanked most of the blows for her. By the time they tumbled to the balcony a floor down below them, Saya had suffered quite a lot of damage.

The Blood demoness was the first to recover as she had been least affected by the blast. Saya on the other hand had taken the full force of the attack. In fact it was actually a direct hit and frankly, it was a miracle that she was still in once piece. But she was in a very dire condition, because even if Saya’s powers were healing her, the Sai’ore’ back had almost blown to bits, her right arms was barely holding together and she was having trouble breathing because most of her lungs were destroyed and she was gasping desperately for air.

Seeing her in such a state terrified Alice. She came near Saya and held her hand, hoping she would be alright but that was all she could do. She had no idea what it do and it made her feel hopeless and useless. 

“Come on. You can get well right? Please tell me you can.” Alice says while rubbing Saya’s palm, hoping that the tiny heat caused by friction can be of any help.

Saya could feel that her body was healing slowly, but what worried her was how it was fixing itself in the wrong way. Someone will have to fix it manually or else it could cause major problems for her. Unfortunately, Alice had little to no medical knowledge so currently she was little to no use in that field. She could however be of one use however.

Gasping heavily, mustering up much of her effort, Saya utters while almost chocking, “H-Hanabi….” the lack of oxygen finally caused her to faint, making Alice panic uncontrollably. She didn’t know what to do right now and thus she spend a good while pacing around thinking what to do. Sadly nothing came in her mind that could help her, but she did remember what Saya said.

Her request was to return to that human girl and this made Alice scoff in annoyance and jealousy but she also knows the fact that Saya cares dearly for Hanabi so Alice had no choice but to accept it. Slowly, Alice carries Saya in her arms, taking care not to damage her already beaten body and spread her wings. Hoping that the Human girl would at least have some way to help Saya, Alice prepares to take flight.

\---X---

It was probably during 2 am, when it was still dark at night, The Abyss attacked. Their fire balls catapults and ballista were very quick to destroy the watch towers and sentry towers. Their attack was fast and swift and since the Elves were not ready, the outer levels of the city were easily overwhelmed.

After several sacrifices of many brave guards, the refuges where evacuated from that area and were taken towards the safe houses. There they were held up while the fight still rage on outside.

Miya had led her people towards one of the safe house as well and she was glad that she was able to save most of them. Nana had been quite the whole while after she woke up, possibly because her Night-elf friend was gone, but none were throwing a fit like Hanabi. She had been utterly terrified when she found out that they were under attack and Saya was nowhere to be found. 

It took a lot of convincing before Miya was able to make Hanabi come along with her and this proved to be very helpful as Hanabi’s assistance came handy to defend all the refugees while they escaped.

Upon reaching one of the safe houses, Hanabi sat heavily upon one of the chairs as refugees flooded inside the safe house. The Safe house itself was nothing special, being big enough to house over fifty peoples with several bunk beds. The house was also provided with several rations and first aid items that were utilized at its fullest by the refugees as many were injured during their escape.

They were all worried about what would happen to them now that the abyss had attacked once again, but Hanabi on the other hand was extremely worried about Saya right now and could think of nothing else. Miya had suggested that Saya must have regrouped near the safe house as well after the attack. Sadly this was not to be as Hanabi had scoured every houses and Saya was nowhere to be found.

Hanabi buried her face in her hands and whimpered, “Oh, Saya-chan, where can you be?”

Suddenly a few elven guards came into their building and declared, “We need every able body to help us fight. Every men over eighteen and under hundred fifty are coming with us.”

This sudden command caused everyone to panic and almost throw a fit. Miya being the unofficial leader of the rabble spoke out, “Wait, you are recruiting civilian militia? Are you outta you mind? These are just but simple civilians! Farmers, workers, no some goddess damned warriors!”

The Guard understood Miya’s distress but he had his orders, “I am sorry, Priestess. But the Abyss are pinning us down and we simply don’t have enough man power. We need all the help we can get.”

Miya cursed at this. The Situation was grave indeed, thus the measures were extreme as well. But still she was not willing to let her people get slaughtered, thus she argues further, “What of the King? Did he issue this order?”

At this The Guard turned grim. “He has abandoned us. Gone and locked himself in the Castle vault, we are on our own.” His words left Miya speechless and she stood aghast.

Understanding the desperation of the situation, many of the refugees, both young and old, men and women willingly volunteered to help defend the city. Soon all that remained was a few elderly folks and children.

Knowing that her own morals would not let her stay idly by, Hanabi readied herself and joined Miya and surprisingly Nana to rendezvous with the defending forces. The ninja girl had hoped that she would find Saya along the way.

They didn’t go far however because as soon as they left the building, a figure landed before them from the sky and what they saw shocked all of them.

There before them stood the Queen of Apocalypse herself. This was a big shocker for all three of them, however the thing that was even more so was the fact that Alice had been carrying a severely bloody, wounded and unconscious Saya.

Seeing her in such a state, Hanabi immediately lost her mind and charged forward, “HOW DARE YOU!!!” she roared, practically blinded by rage upon seeing her friend in such a state. Alice however simply scoffed and casted a small spell as her. Although the spell was a weak one, the enhancements that Saya’s blood had given her had boosted it so much that Hanabi was left immobilized in her place in a single shot, making everyone gasp at how powerful she was.

Paying no heed to their surprise, Alice faced Hanabi and said, “Listen, human. Even I don’t like being anywhere near the likes of you, But….” Her voice softened considerably when she mentioned Saya, “She needs help. She means a lot to both of us, so I suggest we cooperate.”

Upon hearing Alice’s words, Hanabi was genuinely confused and several questions rose in her mind.

Like, what happened to Saya?

Why was this Demon helping her?

And, Why did it sound like she actually cared about Saya? 

Once Alice had made her point clear, she undid her spell that immobilized Hanabi and called, “Come on, we don’t have much time.”

Although Hanabi was still unsure of this whole ordeal, even she agreed that Saya was much more important than their mutual dislike for each other and followed the Blood Demon inside the safe house, while Miya and Nana still stood outside; thinking what the hell just happened.

Hanabi immediately sprung to work and cleared a bed for Saya while Alice gently laid the tall Sai’ore on the bed, unheeding how the rest of the refugees of the building either scurried away or fled the building itself at the sight of her.

Now that Hanabi got a good look of Saya’s condition, she gasped realizing just how severe the situation.

“What did you do demon?” Hanabi questioned heatedly and Alice replied back with equal furiosity, “Nothing! It’s just that Miss. Goodie-two-shoe here had to be a hero and take the explosive crossbow means for me!” for a moment, Hanabi could’ve sworn she saw Alice’s eyes brimming with frustrated tears. But The Demoness turned away quickly and declared firmly, “We will have enough time to tear each other’s throats later. Right now, she is our main concern.”

Never would have Hanabi thought she would ever agree with a demon of the Abyss, but these was not normal times exactly, thus the ninja girl tried to focus. She analyzed Saya’s body to grade the seriousness of the situation utilizing the knowledge that she had learned from Saya herself. The results were bad.

“Oh my god, what even happened to her? Her Back has almost caved in and her arms have healed in the wrong shape!” Yelled Hanabi, basically blaming Alice for Saya’s condition.

Narrowing her eyes into a glare, Alice hissed, “I can see that. Now tell me how to help her.”

The ninja girl matched Alice’s glare, but both knew that arguing isn’t gonna help so they chose to calm down a bit to be more productive.

“I need the med-kits, we are out of them but I am sure there is more other the other Safe houses.” Says Hanabi.

“If that is what you need.” Mutters Alice unfolding her wings. She took off immediately, leaving Hanabi alone with Saya. True she had many questions, but her teacher’s health was more important right now.

To help fix the back; Hanabi would need a med-kit, something she didn’t have right now. But the arm however, she could help. The ninja girl cringed at the odd shape Saya’s hand had been twisted into after it had healed. As much as Hanabi hated it, she had no other choice but to break it again so that it heals back to its normal shape.

Taking a deep breath, Hanabi takes a hold of Saya’s hand. Making a firm grip, Hanabi was about to yank but she was suddenly lifted off the ground by her neck and pressed against the wall.

She was disoriented for a while and when she came back to her senses, the first thing she saw as a very pissed Alice looking at her with her fangs bared, the med-kit that Hanabi had asked to bring lay discarded on the floor.

“I SAID TO HELP HER YOU PATHETIC WORM! NOT HURT HER AGAIN!” Alice roared in the masked girl’s face, a sight that would have left many people too terrified to even move. However, Hanabi didn’t back down and spat back, “Her hand had been disoriented, and I need to break it again to fix it! Don’t you know this or are you just too dumb?” with that, Hanabi punched Alice hard enough to actually send her tumbling down.

Honestly, Alice was surprised how strong Hanabi was, courtesy of all the intense training Saya put her through and the demoness didn’t like it. But with legendary display of will power, Alice fought the urge to punch Hanabi back and said in an unwilling tone, “Fine……….Just try to keep it quick and painless.”

Once again the amount of concern that Alice showed towards Saya was surreal and Hanabi didn’t know exactly how to feel about it. But pushing those feelings aside for now, Hanabi took hold of Saya’s arm once again.   
“Forgive me, Saya-chan.” Hanabi mutters and then yanked quick and hard.

The reaction was instant and Saya screamed loudly even in her unconscious state, causing both Hanabi and Alice to immediately come to her side.

“I told you to make it quick and painless!” scolds Alice.

“I tried!” Hanabi yells back and immediately works to put Saya’s hand in its normal place, all the while Alice kept holding Saya’s other hand while trying to hush Saya by stroking her head gently. It didn’t take long for Saya’s arm to heal and this time, it was thankfully in its normal state.

Hanabi then puts her attention upon Saya’s back and says aloud, “The Med-Kit.”

Alice nodded and wordlessly got what the human asked for while Hanabi steeled herself because she was about to perform her first surgery.

All the while, Miya and Nana looked upon them in absolute confusion. They had absolutely had no idea what was going on but the sight before them was something they had never even imagined of. It was clear that both Hanabi and Alice were confused of the situation as well, let still for the sake of the injured Sai’ore, the two of them were willing to set aside their differences briefly.

Hanabi was very nervous right now because her only experience with surgery was seeing Saya working on those patients all those weeks ago. But she had to try for Saya’s sake and she was determined to give her best. Surprisingly, Alice, who was there all the while and Hanabi had imagined that her presence would be distracting, but on the contrary, she was actually very helpful by acting as an unofficial assistant by passing her tools, cottons and water when Hanabi asked for.

The whole ordeal took a good while, but due to the combined efforts of Hanabi and Alice, they were able to successfully patch Saya’s back. It healed within moments and the Sai’ore was now able to breathe properly with her lungs not collapsing under her ribs.

Both Alice and Hanabi let out a breath of relief. Saya’s condition had stabilized and all that remained for her was to gain back consciousness. This loosened a huge weight off their shoulders knowing that Saya would be okay, but now since their primary concern was taken care of, Alice and Hanabi looked at each other intensely.

Outright hostility was not there, but there was not an ounce of trust among them either. Eyeing the demoness intently, Hanabi questioned, “What now?”

Alice looked at her for a while before turning away, “We wait…” she says, looking out of the window from which she could see the city burning as war kept raging on outside. This reminded them all of what was happening and made them anxious of what was to be done.

The Demoness however remains calm and keeps speaking, “This was not the way I planned things to be. Not the way it was supposed.”

Curious of what she said, Hanabi raised her brow and asked, “What plan?”

At this, Alice looked towards Saya’s sleeping from, “Her…” tenderly; Alice strokes Saya’s cheek and says softly, “I never intended to get her involved in all this…… If only had I been more careful…”

Hanabi had no idea why, but seeing Alice being so vulnerable and tender towards Saya didn’t sit well with her at all. A strange feeling that would swell within her whenever she sees a certain umbrella midget with a certain shadow ninja ignited within her heart with fury. Reacting instantly, Hanabi smacked Alice’s hand away from Saya and hissed aggressively, “Don’t touch her!”

Her action surprised Alice at first but that turned into anger very quickly and she growls back, “Or what? You don’t own her.”

“I won’t let some demon scum near my friend.” Hanabi declares defensively and stands up with her weapons ready. Not backing down one bit, Alice stood up as well and glared down at the masked Human girl, “You are lucky that my Xeno cares for you or would be nothing but a pile of ashes by now.”

Had this carried on any further, the two would have come to blows. But the entire ground trembled was they could hear the Abyssal War machines closing in further and further, reminding them of just what was happening outside.

This distracted Alice form their banter and she walked towards the entrance of the safe house. She really confused the occupants of the room when she casted a protective spell around the building and spoke aloud, “This should keep them from attacking this building.”

Now Alice’s motives really confused Hanabi, thus she couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you helping us?”

To think that the young human would assume that Alice was helping them was absolutely hilarious to her. So she laughed hysterically and answered, “No, I ain’t helping you, Darling. I am helping her.” Alice points Saya, further confusing them all.

Alice walks closer to Saya while explaining, “We both don’t exactly know how it all started. But let’s say……..She is important to me. I had been trying very hard to keep the Abyss off her back but she seems to walk right into our schemes no matter what.” she says while rubbing her temples.

“Matters not now, this city is doomed. Those who wanna live stay here and I might show mercy.”, Declares Alice sitting beside Saya’s bed, intending to wait till the battle was over.

The way how she casually says that the city will fall so easily really angered the elves. Especially Nana, who puffed her cheeks and yelled, “Oh I will show you! Come on, Miya, lets kick some butt!” with that Nana holds Miya and drags her out of the house, making Alice shake her head at their stupidity.

She did however freak out when Hanabi was moving to follow them as well. Alice immediately teleported in front of her and questioned, “Just where do you think you’re going?”

Hanabi glared at her, “To help them kick the Abyss’ ass. Now let go of my way.”

“I don’t think so, Darling. You stay here.” Says Alice firmly, making Hanabi raise a brow, “What? Scared that I will ruin Abyss’s plans single handedly?” Hanabi says smugly making The Demoness roll her eyes at the human’s arrogance, “Hardly. But as much as I don’t give a shit whether you live or die, Saya will. So for her sake, you’re not leaving.”

The Kunoichi narrows her eyes towards Alice but says nothing and proceeds to keep walking, much to the Queen’s surprise. “There is no way that you could possibly win. Not with the War Machine of our side…” Alice warns but Hanabi doesn’t respond or stop in her path. Having enough, Alice suddenly held Hanabi’s arm and shouts, “It is suicide! Have you ever thought what would happen to Saya if something happened to you??”

Her words caused Hanabi to pause as she pondered on what Alice said, “Honestly….” Hanabi says softly, “You’re right. Saya would probably be heartbroken if I die out there, But…..” Hanabi then turned towards Alice with a determined look in her eyes, “That is not what Saya would’ve wanted. If I have learned anything from Saya, than that is to always help those in need and to never give up…” Slowly, Hanabi pried Alice’s hand off her arm and says boldly, “You may give her what she needed. But I will give her what she wanted.” With that Hanabi walked away, leaving behind an astounded Alice.

Returning to her senses, Alice says one last time, “Then you will die along with the City.”

But her warning fell on deaf ears as Hanabi replied, “So be it.”…………..


	56. Choices

It was out of very lucky coincidence that Karina was able to escape the clutches of the guards when her captures found out that their latest prisoner the Queen of Apocalypse herself had broken out of her cell.

With them distracted enough with a bigger threat, the night elf assassin wisely used this opportunity to slip past unnoticed by them and left the guards to their own fate with the merciless Blood Demoness.

However, although Karina had regained her freedom, she now faced with a new problem that now lay ahead of her. What would she do now?

Theoretically, she could try and spit past the city defences and meet up once again with the Abyssal forces even though that said feat would most likely be far more difficult than how simple it sounded in her mind. More so, Karina was conflicted whether or not she really wanted to leave. Not when Nana was still in the city.

Truthfully, Karina didn’t really care about what happened to the city and its inhabitants along with the refugees. She did however concerned herself with the fact that Nana would most probably share the same fate as well and thus was her dilemma and frankly, she didn’t know what she could possibly do to save her new friend at all.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t given much time to consider her options because soon enough, the abyssal forces attacked the city without a warning, leaving Karina with no choice but to move forward.

“Please be safe, Nana…”

\---X---

The situation was utterly disastrous. The Abyssal forces were flooding into the city like water from a broken dam. The city was not prepared for this and so the outer level of Moniya was quickly overwhelmed by the attacking forces. The Elves had to retreat back towards the inner levels of the city but they knew that this was only a temporary sanctuary. The Abyss was relentless and was constantly trying to claw their way up to the upper levels. Fortunately, the elves were able to form a defensive line and hold the enemies back by shooting them down when the demons tried to climb up.

However, with their King gone, the Elves were having a very hard time coordinating. Without a leader, the Elven forces were in complete disarray. Several high ranking officers with their own loyal contingency of fighters were successful in fending away smaller groups of enemies, but the real hurdle was the larger groups of Abyssal demons which required a coordinated attacks to take down, something that was hard to see through, especially when each Officer refused to follow command from another, all because they both were of in fact of the same rank. This is what happens to an army with many leaders, it has no leader.

Even right now, Irithel, a warrior of high rank herself, was having a heated discussion with the other Elf commanders and it wasn’t going well.

“This isn’t the time for all these bullshit, Arlon. We need to band together to stop this invasion!” she tried to reason with her fellow officer, but in response, Arlon speaks back defensively, “And what do you suppose we do? Hand over the command of the entire army to you? You are not the King, Irithel and I am not risking the lives of my men in the hands of an unqualified wild-born.”

Being insulted about her origin, both irithel and her smilodon, Leo, growled dangerously before pouncing at him, “How dare you call me that!”

More about ten people were required to separate both Irithel from Arlon and both were cursing loudly, swearing to kill each other for what they did.

Things were bad and having enmity brew up within their own ranks was the last thing they needed. But, the worst was yet to come.

And it did when the ground trembled notably and a low rumble resonated throughout the area. This happened so because soon enough, the Abyssal forces had brought out one of their ace in the battle field.

It came in the form of a huge siege engine. It looked like a worm made up of metal and fire that crawled upon its terrible jagged legs and it was moving right towards the inner levels of the city.

Upon seeing this, Irithel could only say lowly, “Moon Goddess help us.”

\---X---

Miya , Nana and Hanabi were making their way through the smouldering remnants of the once great city with the goal to regroup with the main defensive forces and to lend whatever help they could give.

Their path ahead had been a difficult one, filled with obstacles and enemies but with the combined efforts of all three of them, they came out fairly unharmed from their encounters.

They did halted however when the trio felt the Earth shake beneath their feet.

“What is happening?” Miya questions loudly because the tremors were getting stronger by each passing seconds and it made them all very nervous. But their nervousness turned into full blown horror when the monstrous siege engine of the Abyss came in their sight.

Gasping in horror, Nana exclaims, “How are we going to take ****that**** down???”

Neither Miya, nor Hanabi knew that if there was any sort of right answer to that question at all but what they did know was that the machine must be stopped. And judging by the size of the thing, it would have no problems crushing the defences of the Elves and once that happens, Moniya would be doomed. Thus, they had to be quick.

“We need to destroy it. I don’t know how, but we need to destroy It.” stated Miya firmly and even if they didn’t have any idea how to accomplish such a feat, they knew they had a goal.

Readying her weapon in her hand, Hanabi gave her chakram a twirl and speaks, “Welp, What are we waiting for? Let’s do this, girls.”

All three agreed and moved towards the direction of the engine with determination in their heart.

\---X---

With the invasion on full swing, Karina was having lots of trouble travelling through the city. She had to avoid both the ELven and the Abyssal forces, something that was very hard to accomplish seeing that the entire city was engulfed in a large scale conflict.

What was her plan here?

Maybe find Nana and help her out of the city.

After that? She had no clue.

Shaking her head, she focused at the task at hand, deciding to cross that bridge when she would come across it.

Now the real question was, where was Nana?

Moniya was a big city and finding a little girl in such a huge place in the middle of a war sounded like madness. But she would have to try.

Her best bet would most probably be the safe houses where the civilians would be held up in, so she was thinking of making her way just there.

However she had to stop abruptly when she heard an all familiar sound of a machine. Her eyes widened in horror upon seeing the Siege machine. She had seen its destructive power before and it only made her more desperate.

“I need to get her out of here quick!”

Suddenly in a distance, Karina saw a few distinctly pink explosions and had a very good idea who it could have been. But the bombardments had been awfully close to the siege engine’s position and this caused the night elf to pale in fear.

She bolted towards the direction Nana and her friends were headed, praying that she would not be too late.

\---X---

Her head throbbed painfully when consciousness came back to her. Saya stirred awake and tried to get up slowly. Her body had healed, thanks to the combined efforts of both Hanabi and Alice, so she was now able to move and breathe properly without damaging her body further.

Relieved that her condition was now stable, Saya looked around her surrounding and the first thing she noticed was that she was laying on a bed in some sort of safe house that housed several other refugees.

The second thing she noticed was the constant rumbling of the Earth and the muffled sounds of battle that had most probably been raging on for quite a while now, causing Saya to groan.

It was exactly what Alice had warned about and what they had failed to escape from. But, what’s done is done and cannot be undone, she will now have to improvise and think of a new plan, one that would ensure the survival of her flock.

Speaking of her flock, Alice, who had been there all the while, finally noticed the Sai’ore had awakened and moved closer to check on her.

“Are you alright?” The Demoness asked in concern, which seemed so out of character for her.

Hissing a bit and cracking her sore back that had recently healed, Saya speaks out affirmatively, “I’ll live.”

The two shared a small laugh at this for a while until the two now stood with an awkward silence between them. Slowly Saya drew closer and pulled Alice into a hug, causing the cold hearted Demon to blush brightly with her heart pounding wildly.

“Thank you.” Says the Sai’ore in gratitude, making Alice’s heart skip a beat.

The scene would have been a heart warming one if the rest of the refugees had not been looking at them in absolute shock and disgust and the fact that a war was raging on just outside.

Saya got pulled back to reality when she realized what the situation was currently outside and ended their warm embrace abruptly, much to Alice’s annoyance.

Looking out of the window and towards the burning city, Saya asks solemnly, “Now what?”

Alice ponders on Saya’s question and answers, “We wait here. The Abyss will not harm anyone in this building. Just let me do the talking when they arrive, Alright?”

Honestly, Saya didn’t mind Alice’s idea as long as on one she cared about isn’t hurt. Thus, Saya sat back down. Then like a brick to her face, she noticed the severe lack of a certain masked ninja girl.

“Where is Hanabi?”

Alice seemed to visibly cringe as if she tasted something bitter upon hearing that question. Her reaction didn’t go un-noticed by the Ex-empress thus Saya questions more pressingly, “Alice, where is Hanabi?”

The Queen had to answer eventually.

\---X---

Their way towards the engine had been long and perilous, filled with enemies and other dangers but still the trio pushed on. The Elven forces were trying their very best to hold off the advancing demonic forces yet the Abyss seemed unending.

But still they didn’t give up, they fought on courageously and carved their way further into the enemy lines.

They knew exactly why their mission was so important, the fate of the kingdom may very well be resting on their shoulders and thus they really couldn’t afford to fail.

And so they fought on, tirelessly to get closer to the horrid machine. Shutting it down or destroying it would turn the tide of the battle, something that they desperately needed as the Moniyan forces were being mowed down like crops on harvest day.

Slashing through the enemies, Hanabi looked forward towards her goal, “Almost there…”

But it seems like she just jinxed them because soon after that, a group of huge Abyssal demons blocked their path, much to their annoyance.

“You had to speak, didn’t you.” Growled Miya distastefully while Hanabi muttered a coy, “Sorry.”

The Demons then parted away to give way for the ones who stood behind them. Upon stepping forward, it was revealed to be a few Abyssal generals along with Balmond of the Blood Orcs.

However that was not even the greatest threat.

No, that title would most likely go to the Abyssal Witch who now stood before the three of them with eyes filled with hunger.

“What have we here?”

\---X---

“What do you mean she is gone?” Saya roared. As expected, she really didn’t take the answer well.

“I tried to stop her, but the stubborn human wouldn’t listen! Is this what I get for my generosity?” hissed Alice angrily, thinking about the ungrateful human girl.

And while the Demoness was busy in her angry rant, Saya however was now having a panic attack.

The thought of Hanabi running alone into a war was very terrifying for Saya. She feared what the human might do, she could get hurt or worse and this was eating Saya away.

Knowing that she will not be able to stand idly by while her human was out there and in possible danger, Saya immediately made her way towards the door. She had to look for her Hanabi before it’s too late. She had to be there to protect her or else…

“Where do you think you’re going?” Alice questioned standing before Saya with narrowed eyes.

With panic and worry clear as crystal on her face, Saya exclaims, “Meha Hana is out there, we need to save her before she gets hurt!”

Alice knew not why was it that seeing such affection and concern in the eyes of Saya but for someone else other then herself really infuriated her. Not being able to hold it any longer, Alice blurts out, “Why do you care? She left you here when you were down and I was the one who took care of you! I chose to be on your side while she chose to leave you for this filthy city! Why are you going after her now when she left you???”

Her emotions were getting the better of her as her breaths quicken and her body shook with barely controlled rage. Seeing this shocks Saya. She tries to reason with her beloved, “Meha kari, Please understand. I have to…”

But talking to Alice right now was like trying to calm a raging hurricane. The Demoness was not ready to hear anything she had to say.

“You must choose now, either me or her!” spat Alice, making Saya gasp in astonishment.

She couldn’t believe it. Never would have Saya thought that she would be asked to make such a decision. Slowly she walks towards Alice and looked her in the eyes. Her purple eyes that held not just anger and rage, but frustration and sorrow as well. Alice had never dealt with so many emotions before and it was really messing up her judgement, but her words struck deep within Saya’s heart because her deep sorrowful eyes now held tears that threatened to fall.

Tentatively Saya cups Alice’s face and says softly, “Why must you do this to me, Meha kari? Why must you pull my heart apart? I cannot choose…. Please don’t make me choose….”

Her broken voice pierced Alice’s heart like nothing she had ever experienced. The terrible sensation of guilt and the pain that came with it was something Alice was never ready for and it was unbearable. She wanted to drop this question, embrace Saya all over and ask forgiveness. Anything to make it up for the pain that she had caused for the only person she ever cared for. Yet her pride and greed won over, she wanted Saya all for herself thus she pressed on.

Holding Saya’s arms firmly, Alice says boldly, “No, you must choose. Now.”

Her words broke the Empress’s heart and she looked down in shame. Alice was confident, she was very much confident that even if Saya would be sad, she will not leave her. She would never leave her side.

However, imagine her shock when Saya came closer and kissed her forehead softly. She held her face once more and says solemnly, “You are precious to me, Meha kari. But I cannot leave her. Please don’t hate me….” With that Saya gave her one last kiss and bolted out of the house with trails of tears behind her, leaving Alice mortified.

She couldn’t believe what happened. Her entire world seemed to shatter before her at that very instant when she sees Saya’s figure disappearing into the smokes of battle. And even if Saya had confessed to her, Alice forgot it in her despair. The only words that rung inside her head were these, “She left me… She left me…”…………… 


	57. Battle of Moniya

Things were really bad for Irithel and the rest of the defending forces. The siege engine was literally at their door step and with each passing moment, it drew closer and closer. But the fact that made the situation even worse was that, since they already had their hands full with all the demons that were trying to force their way through their defences, they could not do anything to hold the advances of the Abyssal war machine.

They were stranded and were just delaying the inevitable, like cattle waiting to be slaughtered.

Irithel couldn’t help but curse and despair. Only a miracle could save them now and she prayed to the Moon Goddess for help.

In a way her prayer was indeed answered because, from the crowd emerged Saya, the same person that Irithel was sure she had shot and should’ve been dead.

The Tall woman looked frustrated, worried and unexpectedly angry. She looked very angry. Her fangs drawn, she roars, **“WHERE IS HANABI??”**

\---X---

Selena was powerful, that was the first thing the three noticed upon battling with her. With the Abyssal Witch herself blocking their path towards their goal, victory seemed almost impossible for the defenders.

Using her black magic, the night elf sorceress decimated the Elven forces and completely halted their advance single handedly.

Hanabi ducked under cover as a volley of arrows and magic flew past her, barely missing her. Miya and some other elf soldiers had taken refuge behind the cover as well to save their hide from the onslaught the terrible Witch while many of their comrades were shredded to pieces.

“This is bad…” chocks out one of the soldiers while pulling an arrow out of his shoulder.

“With the Abyssal Witch of their side, we will never make it to the Machine.” Exclaims the other in despair and he was certainly right. They were pinned and cornered while the Siege machine crawled closer towards the city. Running out of options, they needed to come up with a plan real quick.

“Maybe not all the troops are needed to disable the machine…” suggests Hanabi, making Miya look at her in surprise. The ninja girl explains further. “I have some explosive tags left. Made if I can reach it, I can blow it from the inside!”

Her plan sounded good, but there was one major flaw in her proposition.

“To get to the engine, you will have to be as fast a stallion in heat. If you can’t run as fast as that, the Demons will cut you down before you can even reach anywhere near the metal abomination.” Grumbled the soldiers causing Hanabi to sulk down because her plan was most likely useless right now.

“But that’s all we have got right now. We have to at least try and buy some time for her.” reasoned Miya. Truthfully, the soldiers really didn’t like the plan at all. They were essentially putting all their hopes and fate on a human they barely even knew. But as Miya had pointed out, that was all they had got. And it was far better to at least try then to just sit there and wait for their demise. So reluctantly, they all agreed.

Without a warning, the elves charged out directly, surprising the demons with their sudden assault. That was the best they could do to create a diversion and Hanabi used this opportunity to dash in the direction of the Engine.

“Fast. I gotta go fast!”

The Ninja girl ran as fast as her legs could carry her, all the while praying that Miya and the other would be alright. Sadly, what the Soldier had said was true. The Abyssal demons spotted her immediately and were already on to her.

“Get her!” they roared, charging at her with murderous intent. Hanabi had to defend herself but sadly, what could one girl do against a horde. They came in overwhelming numbers, far more that what her Higanbana could take down at once.

An orc was able to finally close in on her and knock her off her feet in one blow. The air was knocked out of her lungs from that attack and Hanabi lay writhing on the ground in pain. The Orc growled distastefully and lifted up his club to crush the human.

Hanabi just looked up in horror as the orc swing the club in her direction. Then as if a boon sent by heaven, her saviour came in the form of a certain black old horse who galloped towards them and horse kicked the orc right in the face. The kick was devastating because the Orc’s face completely caved in, leaving it as nothing but a bloody pulp.

The human could only watch in complete shock, and then her shock turned into a wide smile under her mask. Immediately she jumped up to her feet and hugged the old mare, obviously very happy to see her friend, “You’re alive!!”

Although the horse had saved the human, her personality had not changed a bit and so she snorted in annoyance, making Hanabi let go of the old horse who was giving her a glare. Some things never changes and Hanabi chuckled nervously under the Horse’s mean look. But Hanabi got reminded of the situation at hand when the screams and the war cries of the charging demons got louder and closer.

Hanabi paled at the sight of the horde but Nhari came to her rescue once again. The horse allowed Hanabi to sit on her back and rode off with the demons on her tail.

The Ninja girl laughed at this and patted Nhari’s neck, “I take back everything I ever said about you!” The horse narrowed her eyes towards Hanabi, daring her to pet her once again and Hanabi wisely didn’t provoke the mare with foul temper. Seriously, the horse was more fearsome than the Abyssal Demons!

Hanabi then looks forward towards the Siege engine ahead in a distance and says in a determined voice, “I need to get to that machine. Think you can get there fast enough?” The Horse nodded and galloped faster.

But their progress was didn’t went unnoticed and unfortunately it was the Abyssal witch who had happened to notice it and she didn’t look happy. Growling angrily, she went after them.

\---X---

The first thing Irithel did upon seeing Saya was train her crossbow at her and shoot. Since it was not an explosive bolt, Saya made no motion to dodge the bolts when it hit her chest. It only served to annoy her as she plucked out the bolts from her body and her wounds healed, causing the elves to gasp in horror.

Matching Irithel’s angry looks with her own looks of annoyance, Saya speaks, “I have no quarrel with you. Tell me where is Hanabi.”

“How should I know? And I won’t tell even if I did, I don’t deal with consorts of the Demoness!” Irithel spats venomously. However as soon as these words felt her mouth, Irithel found herself being stared down by Saya who looked absolutely furious.

“I suggest you don’t speak on subjects you don’t know about, Child.” she says lowly with a cold and intimidating voice and against her will, Irithel couldn’t help but feel dread swell within her as she felt a chill go down her spine. 

The Elf just couldn’t express it in words, but there was just something about the tall woman that genuinely scared her. Was it her angry eyes, or her low voice that carried barely controlled rage, she didn’t know, but she was terrified of Saya right now.

During the commotion, the demons were able to somehow breach the gate and flood inside their area. The Elves panicked at this and tried hastily to push them demons back before they would overwhelm them. However, much to their shock, Saya hissed and charged head on towards the horde.

Armed with only her sword, the elves thought that Saya was a madwoman who literally jumped into death’s mouth. But they could only watch in complete astonishment when the lone Sai’ore mowed through the waves of enemies with easy.

Her movements were quick and precise, her strikes were accurate and deadly, many fell to her blade and while the Abyssal forces seemed endless, Saya was not tiring either. She just kept on holding her ground against the demons and much to the shock of the Elves; she was actually pushing them back.

Seeing how she was single-handedly devastated their numbers, the Elven soldiers cheered. The power and skills she showed awed and inspired them. With a new vigour and hope ignited within their hearts, they joined the battle as well, fighting alongside the powerful Empress who held the strength to take on an entire army herself, fighting on without a break and carved her path through the enemies.

But Saya didn’t care about any of it. Her only concern was finding and ensuring the safety of her human, and was not going to let anyone get in her way……

  



	58. Bringing down the Abomination (part1)

With Nhari’s help, Hanabi was able to reach near the siege machine far faster than she could have with her own legs. The Demons that were after her no longer followed her because the black horse was easily able to lose them with her speed.

“You know, for an old horse, you sure are fast.” The human girl complimented, oblivious that the horse was just getting more annoyed by her praises.

They rode on for a good while till they neared their destination, The Siege Engine.

“Whoa…” Hanabi gasped breathlessly, marvelling at the size of the metal beast that stood over 50 meters tall. The girl was rightfully intimidated by the colossal machine but the horse still seemed unimpressed. The Turtle had been far bigger and she ran neck to neck with that mountain sized creature so the machine was not gonna amazed her anytime soon. 

“Okay, can you get me closer? I have to board it.” Hanabi requested and the equine was ready to oblige. Now running just beside the machine, Hanabi could feel the ground shake with every step the machine took and it really made her nervous and she was supposed to climb that thing and somehow manage to shut it down. It was utterly crazy but she had herself suggested this, so it was her responsibility to see it through.

“Here goes nothing…” she mutters and readies herself. The machine’s leg came crushing down into yet another earth shaking step, that was the exact moment when Hanabi decided to jump off the horse and latch on to the metal limb.

Fortunately she was able to secure a grip on the limb and didn’t fell to her death. Now that the first step was done, Hanabi started to slowly climb up the leg, while constantly repeating her mantra, “Don’t look down…”

\---X---

Against all hope, Miya prayed that Hanabi’s plan would somehow succeed and she would return back safe and victorious. They tried their best to create a diversion and she was genuinely happy that the Ninja girl was able to get away on a horse before the demons would overwhelm them.

However, her celebration ended abruptly when she realized that the Abyssal Witch had seen Hanabi and was now tailing the human.

“NO!” she cries and shoots an arrow at Selena’s direction, in hopes that it would somehow stop her. But before the arrow could reach anywhere near the Witch, the projectile was blocked by a huge axe, whose owner was none other than the Balmond himself.

“The Battle isn’t over yet, Elf.” he declares. More troops back him up and soon Miya , Nana and the rest of the soldiers found themselves completely surrounded.

Miya’s throat went dry at this; a sickening feeling came in her stomach that this may very well be her last stand. She holds her bow tighter and mutters lowly, “God speed, Hanabi.”

\---X---

Numbness was all that Alice felt at the current moment. Many emotions raced within her mind as she walked down the decimated city without any care of her surroundings. Disbelief, shock, anger and besides that, sorrow. Heart wrenching sorrow, the likes she had never felt before.

Sorrow that the person she had ever love would leave her like that. The betrayal was agonizing and Alice had no idea what to do.

She never had been one for matters of heart. That was the reason why she had been so weak when Saya had managed to slip into her heart and the very reason why the previous actions hurt Alice so much as well.

The Breaker of hearts had her heart broken for the first time and she could not bear it at all.

Alice didn’t know how to cope with it because the pain in her heart was too much. Nothing had ever hurt her to the extent that her beloved had and the Blood Demoness wanted to end it by any means.

She asks herself often, ‘Why did she do that? ... Was my love not enough? ….What does that human have that I don’t? …. Where did it go wrong? ….Was it because of who I am?’

The Demon Queen laughed bitterly at this, even when tears fell freely off her eyes. She should’ve known that it was just too good to be true. That someone like herself did not deserve to be loved and accepted.

She was, is and always will be a monster and that was a fact that she had to accept.

Alice wiped her tears with the only spare item she had, Saya’s scarf. Realizing whose item it had been, Alice was hit by a wide array of emotions, the fondness and affection she still had for Saya. The anger and bitterness of her betrayal and the deep sorrow of losing the only ounce of compassion she had in this whole world.

Oh, how the Demoness wanted to throw the scarf away, to throw it away along with all the emotions of love, compassion and all the pain that she felt for the Sai’ore, but no matter how much she tried, Alice could not. She could not throw away the only thing that served as a reminder of all the time that they had spent with each other. The only time when she found refuge from all the hate of the world and found sanctuary in Saya’s affection.

A few explosions went off in a distance, reminding Alice of the battle that was still raging on. The Demoness looked out towards the battlefield and the Siege Engine that was still up and about, slowly making its way towards the city. Soon the city would fall along with everyone in it and so would Saya, whom Alice had failed to save.

‘Perhaps there is still a way…’ Alice looks towards the King’s castle. The very thing the Abyss had attacked the Kingdom of Elves in the first place. Alice wonders that if she would be able to get what the Abyss wanted, the invading demons would have no reasons to keep on with their invasion. She could still save her!

People would wonder why Alice would be so willing to protect Saya, if she had just betrayed her. The answer was simple, she still loved her. She had loved her like she had never before and even if she hated her; she would hate herself even more if something was to happen to Saya.

Thus, Alice headed towards the castle with determination to do one last favour for the tall Zeno and nothing would stand in her way.

\---X---

Hanabi was able to finally climb her way up the mechanical limb, using the various bolts, fissures and crannies as hand-holds whilst avoiding the parts of the machine that moved like joints and rotating clogs.

Upon reaching high enough, Hanabi found a way into the main body of the machine via an air vent and traversed inside the engine without alerting the crew that operated the machine below.

Well, she did it. Hanabi was successfully on the moving metal hulk but now another question arose, how was she going to stop this thing?

She doubted that even with all her explosive tags, she will be able to damage the machine enough to completely shut it down. She needed another way, or at least more fire power.

The ninja girl stopped in her tracks when she heard someone talking below the air vent that she was in and remained very silent in fear that they might hear her and in doing so she couldn’t help but over hear them.

“Watch it, Ya git! You could’ve blown us all to oblivion!” a deep voice scolded and Hanabi had to peek down the ventilation, from there she saw a huge Orc accompanied by several other underlings who were carrying several barrels of explosives. 

A chill went down Hanabi’s spine knowing that they were probably planning to drop them once the engine was inside the city.

“Bring it faster, we have to stash it with the rest!” the orc commanded and the creeps followed. His words making Hanabi even more worried because it meant that there were likely more of them and considering just how big the machine was, there was most probably going to be a large number of it.

This thought troubled Hanabi a lot and she knew she will have to stop this machine fast. With her will further solidified, Hanabi thinks of a way to achieve her goal. It didn’t take her long to figure out what she had to do.

Should she be able to find the stash of explosives, she would surely be able to use it against the machine itself!

The idea was brilliant!

Now finally armed with a decent plan, Hanabi tailed the demons through the Air vents.

“Hang on guys, I can do this…..”

\---X---

“Wait!” roars a voice through the swarm of demons that had Miya and her fellow elves surrounded. The enemies halted and a lone figure push through the crowd, “I will deal with these pests myself.”

Turns out that the speaker was none other than the leader of the orcs Balmond himself. Upon his command, the Abyssal army took a step back and formed a circle around them, preventing anyone from getting out alive.

However, as powerful as orcs were, going against an entourage of thirty Elven warriors on his own seemed like madness, even for Balmond.

“Come on, soft blooded Elves. I don’t even need an army to squash you all!” the massive orc declared mockingly, his head held high with confidence.

Seeing the orc speak with such arrogance really angered the Elves, “Filthy orc, you will die here!” they yelled and charge head on, even when Miya warned them not to. “No, it’s a trap!” She cries, but her words fell on deaf ears. The soldiers were too blinded with desperation and rage, causing them to charge blindly. They believed that their overwhelming numbers would be enough to deal with the lone orc, but they were wrong. So very wrong.

With skills not seen in any Orc before, Balmond was able to hold his own against the entire platoon. Their rage and attacks only seemed to empower the red Orc the more they fought him.

Soon, the orc had stored enough rage to enter his berserked stage and when Balmond used his dreaded cyclone sweep, they didn’t stand a chance.

He was just too powerful and strong, his axe shredded through armour and flesh alike and soon the ground was littered with blood and bodies. Seeing the demise of her people angered Miya, causing her to act immediately, “Nooo!”

Arrow after arrow flew towards the orc’s direction but unfortunately, in his berserked state, Balmond didn’t feel any pain due to those wooden missiles. It only served to make him angrier and since her arrows did not hit any major organs, Balmond didn’t stop.

With a loud roar, the Orc covered the distance between himself and Miya. Using his dash, Balmond shoulder bashed Miya, sending the frail and thin elven woman tumbling away and injured her severely.

Balmond stomped towards the wounded and disoriented Miya to finish her off, but before the Orc got any closer, a pink explosion engulfed him, sending him tumbling away and leaving everyone else shocked.

Suddenly Nana showed herself beside Miya, armed with her boomerang, she yells, “Get away from my friend, you meanie!”

Miya was certainly very surprised but glad as well because the cat-elf had essentially just saved her life. However her expression quickly turned to that of horror when they learned that Balmond was still up, about, unharmed and pissed.

“I will crush you beneath my boots, you little fly!” he roars and charges towards Nana.

“No, Nana run!” yells Miya, she herself too beat up to stand up herself.

The child tried to hold the orc off with her boomerang attack but Balmond deflected the attack effortlessly and didn’t slow down. His axe glowed in a sinister red hue as Balmond prepared to use his most devastating attack on Nana.

“NOOOOOOO!” Miya yells, watching helplessly as the axe fell towards Nana. Then out of the blue, all they saw was a bright blue flash and the sound of metal clashing with metal. Slowly Nana looked up and couldn’t help but smile brightly, “Karina!”

There, before the cat-elf, stood the night-elf assassin, blocking the attack of the orc with a bright blue dual blade.

\---X---

Like a true assassin-ninja, Hanabi was able to follow the demons towards the explosives which were stashed in the storage area of the machine in numbers enough to completely level the city. The air vents helped to conceal her approach through the machine half the way, after which she had to get out to the air vents and rely on her true stealth skills to stay hidden.

Once they reached their destination, the orc who had been supervising the labours left as he had other urgent works to carry out. The underlings were busy arranging the explosive barrales on racks with lids that opened outside, most likely to drop the barrels on the target below the engine.

“Not anymore…” hissed Hanabi and rushed out of her hiding place.

The creeps had no chance to react as Hanabi’s higanbana was able to dispatch every single one of them in a single attack. Pleased of her handy work, the masked girl proceeded on to the next phase of her plan.

It took a bit of time but the ninja girl was able to rig the entire place with her own explosive tags that would detonate on her command.

“So far so good. Now, the third stage, how to get off this death trap?” wonders Hanabi while walking out of the storage area. She will have to get out of the siege engine if she wished to trigger her explosive tags and walk out alive.

“Maybe I can go back the same way I came….” She thinks, moving silently through the metal corridors.

Suddenly her senses flared, warning Hanabi of the sudden danger. A black creature covered in smoke had just jumped down upon her with its razor sharp claws; an attack that would have been fatal had Hanabi not moved just in time to avoid it.

“Hmm, you are fast.” The creature speaks in an unearthly voice that made the human’s skin crawl.

She got a good look at the creature now; it had deep blue skin with razor sharp claws and tail. Its face was obscured under a large hood. Underneath it, all she could see was rows of sharp teeth curled up in a twisted smile and glowing red eyes.

Hanabi readies her weapon and speaks, “Who are you?” the creature laughs lowly and introduces itself, “I am Helcurt, the Devourer of light and you, human, are my prey!”………


	59. Bringing down the Abomination (part2)

With the war that had been raging on, the castle had all been but abandoned with all the bulk of the army busy fighting off the invaders. This proved to work in favour for Alice because she could now literally walk inside through the front gate and nothing would stop her.

A humorous situation it would have been, had Alice not been in such a depressing mood. Gone was her charisma, her happiness, her cruelty and even anger. All replaced by a husk of her older self with an aura of misery. Here was no longer the Demon Queen of Apocalypse, just a lost woman whose heart had been shattered into a million pieces.

As she walks through the empty halls of the elven palace, Alice couldn’t help but recognise these place as the back of her hand. Why would she not? When she shared a history with this place.

An ancient history, but history nonetheless.

Every hall way, every pillar and every window brought back memories inside her that she had forgotten so long ago. The hopes that she had crushed here, the hearts that she had broken here. Alice couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at that.

‘Looks like fate finally found a way to get back at me. What better way than to give me a taste of my own medicine.’ The demoness thought scornfully.

Sadness, pain and a bit of self-loathing, never would have Alice thought that she would actually bury herself in such emotions. However, she knows that these emotions will not help right now. She was here for a reason and Alice couldn’t let herself be distracted.

She enters the massive throne room of the Castle and looks around vigorously.

“If my memories serve me right, there was a hidden chamber around here somewhere to house the royalties during times of danger.” Mutters Alice searching for something of interest. She inspects the throne thoroughly and finally finds a hidden switch that opened a trap door behind the throne.

“Typical Estes, still a scaredy cat…” chuckles the blood demoness before going down the path herself.

After a long series of narrow and winding path, Alice finally reached her destination. The vault, most protected part of the castle that housed the most treasured artefact of Elves, The Sacred Knowledge.

Books and tomes of different kind and sizes lay scattered around the area, but Alice knew that none of them was what she seeks. No, Alice knows exactly where she had to look for it and she was right.

There, sitting pitifully on a chair with a golden scroll in his arms was Estes, the Renowned King of Moniya, hiding away like a rat when his kingdom burned above him.

Looking at him with hard eyes, Alice speaks, “We meet again….”

“I wish we hadn’t.” replies the elf after a while.

\---X---

Karina ran as fast as she could towards the direction where she had seen Nana’s explosions. All she prayed was the safety of her friend, hoping that she will be there in time before it is too late.

When she finally reached near enough to actually spot them, she found Nana along with all the other elves surrounded by enemies. A chill went down Karina’s spine, realizing that Nana was currently inside an Orcish Death circle. No one will be leaving the circle enclosure until either of the side loses and the only way to lose was by death.

The powerful leader, Balmond had already wiped out most of the soldiers and now, only a few remained. Karina watched in horror as Nana jumped into the fight to save Miya, effectively being the main attention of the blood lusted orc who charged at her despite being just a small child.

“NO!” Karina screams dashing forward.

She couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t lose another person dear to her as well. She couldn’t lose another sister.

Karina was unarmed and weak yet still her will was strong, willing to risk herself for the ones she loved. She would gladly die trying to save her friend. Thus she didn’t hesitate to jump into the Death circle without a care of her own well being.

Such qualities pleased the Moon Goddess, who shined her divine light upon the Night-elf despite how much Night-elves scorned the Moon Goddess. Miraculously, two blue dual-blades materialized in her arms, a gift from the Goddess.

The assassin was really shocked at what just happened but knowing that she didn’t had enough time to ponder on it, so without a second thought, she threw herself before Nana and blocked the attack.

The Divine blade was no ordinary weapon, thus it was able to withstand the raw power of the Orc. Balmond was sent tumbling away because of his own power while the rest of the spectators looked at Karina in absolute astonishment.

Nana smiled and hugged Karina, “You came back!”

The Night elf smiled softly and patted her head, “I had to…”

However, the fight was not over because Balmond stirred awake, recovered from his previous disorientation and he didn’t look happy. Knowing that the battle ahead will not be an easy one, Karina offered her hand to help Miya up.

The Moon-elf priestess took the hand. She was still not sure about the night-elf assassin but since she had just risked her life for Nana’s sake, Miya was willing to put her faith in her. Plus the fact that the Moon Goddess herself had just bestowed her Holy Blades to her and the Moon Goddess gave her divine weapons to only those who are truly worthy.

Now standing side by side, the moon-elf and the night-elf readied themselves for the challenge ahead of them.

\---X---

“Where is Hanabi!”

These were the only words Saya kept screaming as she fought against the hoard of the Abyss. A demon charged straight at her, but Saya ducked beneath the attack stabbed him right in his jugular. While the demon chocked and drowned in his own blood, the Sai’ore pulled the demon before her and used him as a meat shield when two more demons charged at her. Their attacks killed their own, causing them to get stunned realizing their blunder, enough time for Saya to close in on them.

With her gritted teeth, she stabled one continuously in the solar plexus and once her victim was filled with holes, she set her eyes upon the other. In an attempt to fight back, the demon tried to swing his sword towards her but before he could even understand what was going on, the demon’s sword arm was severed by the angry Sai’ore and he now found himself at her mercy.

Holding the demon by his neck, Saya roars in his face, “Where is Hanabi?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, please….” She didn’t hear any further and ran her sword through his neck. Seeing such slaughter, the rest of the Abyssal forces were really having second thoughts but the Ancient Sai’ore set her eyes upon them as well and slowly walked forward.

It was a blood bath!

She cut through the bulk of the Abyssal army, while the Elves cheered and followed her through the battle. They rejoiced for they now had a powerful saviour but only one was not so blind. No, Irithel knew that things were not as it seemed with the Sai’oren woman.

She had seen the way Saya fought; the intent, the anger, the savagery and the stone cold efficiency. It made the elven beast rider extremely nervous seeing the Xeno’s battle prowess and the fact that her anger seemed to grow more and more with each moment was alarming.

“WHERE IS HANABI!” Saya roars like a battle cry, a hauntingly terrifying call, one that was really making the demons to lose their shits by now and it scared Irithel too. As Saya hacked down rows after rows of helpless demons, she couldn’t help but picture the very angry Sai’oren do the same with her kin.

Iritherl felt a chill go down her spin at the very thought of it and seeing how Saya was effortlessly obliterating the hoards of Abyss who outnumbered her thousands to one, Irithel knew that the Elves would not even stand a chance in their weakened state.

So all Iritheal could do was watch and pray. Pray that whoever Saya was looking for was unharmed, lest the unstoppable Sai’ore’s wrath befalls upon them as well.

\---X---

Alice and Estes looked at each other for a good while in silence. It was the demoness who breaks the silence and speaks, “A panic room, seriously?”

Not in the mood for pleasantries at all, Estes narrows his eyes, “Away with you demon. You’re not welcome here!”

The Queen rolls her eyes and says distastefully, “I don’t like to bask in the presence of a coward either. Now, hand over the scroll.”

Estes holds the golden scroll in his hand tightly. Glaring hatefully, he yells, “This Sacred Knowledge is the most prized artefact of Moniya. I will not let you have it!”

Alice scoffs at this, “Yes-yes, I know. The vessel of the forbidden knowledge, written at the birth of the Land, I know the tales as well. Now hand it over.”

The Elf king takes a fighting stance and declares, “I will defend it with my life!”

Seeing his defiance, Alice couldn’t help but laugh, “You, a cowards who hides when his kingdom burns will defend the scroll? Even the old human king of Mossenia is far more competent than you. You’re nothing but a coward and we both know It.” she says cruelly and Estes couldn’t help but agree against his own will. She was right; they both know it and the king sulks back to his chair.

Alice could care less about him right now, however she does propose, “But I am feeling generous right now. Hand me over the scroll and I will call off the invasion.”

Naturally, Estes didn’t believe a word Alice said, however, he was conflicted when he saw sincerity in Alice’s eyes. Estes had known the demoness for a long time. In fact, he could even shamefully admit that he knew her personally, long back when he himself had fallen to her allure. So he can pick it whenever Alice was trying to be devious. And that’s the reason why her sincerity confused him.

“Why?” he speaks “Since when are you so generous…. Don’t tell me it’s because of that Xeno….” He hit the right spot because Alice looked down right outraged. Angry, murderous but he also saw something else in Alice’s eyes. He saw sadness, one born out of heart break and it really shocked him.

“Don’t you dare speak of her again….” Alice growls, which would have been menacing had her voice not been on the verge of breaking.

It was like everything was coming back to a circle now. The very woman who had broken his heart centuries ago, now stood heartbroken herself before him. And strangely, he could not feel good about it.

Estes sighs, “It’s a luxury, one that was not meant for either of us. One that is denied to you, as it had been denied to me as well.”

‘I don’t need your empathy!’ that’s what Alice wanted to scream, but she remained silent. She remembers the day when she had broken Estes’ heart, how she had laughed to herself at the sport she had did. Now being on the receiving end, she got a taste of her what it must have felt like and couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Shaking his head, the king gave the scroll to the demoness. Having what she had come for, Alice walked away. Suddenly, Estes speaks, “I….. am sorry.” He says in a surprising sympathy, to which Alice replied back, “And… so am I.”

\---X---

Upon seeing the night-elf helping Miya and Nana, the demons were getting really stirred up with anger.

“Traitor!”

“You will pay for your treachery, Whore!”

But before the angry hoard could have attacked, Balmond stopped them, “No. I will deal with them myself.” He growls angrily and cracked his knuckles. Karina narrowed her eyes and took her stance as well. She knew that the orc was very strong and at no cost can she risk getting caught by his crushing blows. Miya stood beside her as well, arrow notched in her bow, her palm sweated due to the anxiousness she was feeling and the thick tension was almost suffocating.

Balmond circled the two elves slowly, scanning them with cold and calculative eyes, thinking of ways to crush them as effectively as possible.

With speed that both Miya and Karine had not anticipated, the Orc charged head on, causing alarms to ring loudly in their head. But they were not fast enough to react and got caught right in his attack.

The orc sent Karina on the floor and now had Miya in his grasp by her throat. The priestess tried to free herself by stabbing his hand with her arrow head but the Orc didn’t even flinch by the attack. His grip tightened around her neck, making Miya chock and struggle in vain for air.

Knowing that he could easily snap Miya’s neck like a twig, Karina immediately came to her rescue. She slashed her powerful weapon at the orc but Balmond had seen this coming and casually threw Miya at Karina’s direction and sent them both crushing to the ground.

“Come on, weaklings, at least try to fight back.” Balmond smirks, causing the demons to snicker smugly. Not one to be out done by an orc so soon, both Miya and Karina charged at the orc. However, this had been of very little help. Dancing around their attacks despite his huge size, he was able to avoid most of their attacks and the attacks that did hit were completely ineffective. He just simply tossed them around with ease while they themselves were not able to do any serious damage.

Their demon spectators roared and laughed, mocking them for their weakness and even if angered the both them, they couldn’t do much about it. Till now Balmond had just been toying with them and they shuddered to think what he could do when he was serious.

“He is too strong, we cannot win this…” mutters Miya, hissing in pain as her damaged body screamed in pain and protest. Karina couldn’t help but agree. Even with the holy weapons in their side, they were simply no match for Balmond’s strength and skills.

However, just when they were losing hope, Nana stepped in and says passionately, “No, we can do this, keep fighting!”

Her optimism would have been contagious had it not been misplaced and if both of them were not in such a bad shape.

“Hate to break it to you, Kid, But we can’t do this…” mumbles Karina dejectedly.

However, Nana giggles at this, “Of course we cannot defeat him alone, but if we work together…”

The Cat-elf’s smile widened into a full wide grin when both Miya and Karina’s eyes widened in realization.

“Are you just going to talk or are we going to fight?” roars Balmond impatiently. He stood waiting, as if challenging them to try anything that could possibly harm him. Such was his arrogance. One that he will pay for dearly.

The three looked at each other one last time and nodded in acknowledgement. With a loud war cry, Karina charged head first and alone towards the Orc. Balmond smirked, thinking that the girl had finally lost it and was now suicidal. He waited for her to come towards him with his axe ready.

However, just when Karina was about to reach his range, the assassin jumped away and from behind her, Nana’s cursed voodoo rabbit doll of misery lunged towards the shocked Orc. It had been a trap!

As soon as the horrid abomination touched Balmond, he turned into a totoro creature, “What the hell??”  
Wasting no time, Nana chanted her incantations and created a series of pink explosions just below the transformed Orc, sending him flying.

“Now it’s my turn!” yelled Miya and rained down arrows on the Orc. Her holy arrows burning through Balmond’s now vulnerable flesh. Covered in wounds, Balmond came crushing down on the earth and transformed back to his normal form. However, he was heavily damaged and was barely able to stand straight.

Knowing that this is probably the only opening that she will get, Karina rushed forward to execute her ultimate attack, Shadow Transition. The attack was powerful, especially when carried out by a divine weapon. His eyes still wide in shock, Balmond slowly fell down to his knees, “Impossible…” and thus was the end of the Blood Orc leader.

It was done; they were victorious in this battle. However, Miya, Karina and Nana had to group up close because now their spectators looked very angry.

Now wounded and surrounded by enemies, the trio were ready to fight tooth and nails till their last breath. But suddenly, from behind, a hoard of Abyssal demons came rushing out of the city that they had been invading and the most shocking fact was that they seemed to be running away….. in fear.

“Run away!”

“Save your lives!”

“M-monster!”

They all screamed and to say that the three were shocked would be an understatement. They were wondering what could have spooked the demons of Abyss so much that they would run like so?

So they got their answer when form the gates of the city, out came Saya. Her body was matted with dirt and blood, her hair was flowing wildly in air, her fangs bared like a rabid animal and her eyes held wrath like none other.

****“WHERE IS HANABI!!”** **

\---X---

Hanabi could feel sweat forming on her brow as she and the shadow bringer circled each other. She had heard of Helcurt’s kind, an ancient species who were known to hold power over shadows and can devour the light. Everyone believed that they were extinct but they were wrong, because here was one who stood before her and its very presence was unnerving Hanabi.

“Tell me, Human, are you afraid?” the Creature of True Darkness purrs while dragging his claw on the floor slowly. The Ninja girl narrows her eyes at this and declares boldly, “You will see soon enough.”

Helcurt laughs maniacally at this, “I will have fun breaking you. Scream for me, my prey!”  
Suddenly he was upon Hanabi and she had to quickly use her kunais to defend herself because the shadow bringer had opted for a head on close combat.

Helcurt was a fast opponent, the fastest one that Hanabi had faced till now, but she was no push over either because she was able to keep up with the beast, blocking and parrying all the attacks from the shadow dweller.

“Most impressive, Human, Most impressive.” Compliments Helcurt after jumping back a bit, creating distance between the two and giving Hanabi the much needed breather she required. They seemed to be almost evenly matched as neither was able to land a hit on each other so far.

But, Helcurt still had his Ace in his sleeve, “Let’s see how you will fare when you are blind…” as soon as he said these words, the Entire area was surrounded by a miasma of Darkness that completely blocked Hanabi’s vision, leaving her in complete Darkness.

“What is this magic?” She yells but all she heard was Helcurt’s laughter echoing from every direction.

“Ahahaha, tremble!” he attacked from behind and due to her lack of vision, Hanabi got hit pretty badly by Helcurt’s blade. The Shadow Bringer kept circling and attacking her, his approach masked by his darkness, Hanabi was helpless like a sitting duck.

‘This isn’t good… I have to do something!’ Hanabi yells in her head while trying to defend herself. But pin pointing Helcurt’s position was hard, especially with her lack of vision and how fast he was going.

‘I will have to take the risk…’ seeing not other way, Hanabi readied her Higanbana. She concentrates to sense Helcurt’s position, but she could not. It was as if he was everywhere!

“Scream, my prey!” his haunting voice echoes from everywhere, making Hanabi even more desperate.

‘Here goes nothing!’ Choosing a direction, Hanabi hurled her chakram in that direction, hoping that it would hit something. Her prayers were answered because Higanbana actually hit Helcurt because he was too distracted by confidence to see it coming.

“What?” he yells as tendrils sprouted out of the ground and wrapped around Helcurt’s body.

Seeing her chance, Hanabi rushed forward towards Helcurt’s direction and rammed her knife in his gut. The shadow around her dissipated and Helcurt stood there with eyes wide in shock and a knife through his stomach. Slowly he fell to his knees and chuckled, “Well played, human, well played…” he laughs lowly and ominously.

Hanabi narrowed her eyes and spoke, “Never seen a creature like you before, who laughs in his own demise.”

Helcurt bursts out laughing more at this, “My demise indeed, but yours too.”

His words confused the ninja girl until a sharp pain stung her arm. Hanabi quickly inspect it and watched in horror when she found out that the wounds inflicted by the shadow bringer were turning sickly blue.

Helcurt laughs even more, “Do tell how my poison tastes like….. in hell.” With that he lets out his final breath, leaving Hanabi all alone in the metal corridor, feeling a bit dizzy.

“I-I need to get out of here…”

She proceeded to go the way from where she had sneaked into the siege engine in the first place. However, she could feel the poison taking its effects because she was feeling very drowsy and even stumbled a few times.

But she somehow managed to get off the machine. Once in a safe distance, Hanabi looked back at the Siege engine, “You will not harm another soul anymore.” With a couple of hand seals, she triggered the explosive tags within the machine.

As soon as that happened, the tags exploded, setting off a chain of explosions within the machine, and amplified by the explosions of the barrels within the machine, the Walking Metal Abomination of Doom exploded in a fiery blaze. It came crushing down the ground and its fires reached almost as high as the Heavens.

She had done it!

Her plan worked!

Hanabi rejoiced but not for long because she was suddenly picked up by the throat by a very-very angry Selena.

“Filthy human! Look what you did!” she roars furiously, angry that a weak human such as herself could deliver such a huge blow to them by destroying their machine. Hanabi chocked as the Abyssal Witch’s grasp tightened around her, unable to fight back because she was too weakened by the poison.

But before Selena could finish her off, an arrow hit her and she had to let go of the human, “Leave her alone!” yells Miya shooting arrow after arrow at her. Nana tailed just behind her but it was the last person who followed them that made Selena stop.

‘The Night-elf….Why does she see so…..familiar?’ wonders the witch upon seeing the night-elf assassin that followed Nana.

Karina recognised her long lost sister as well and gasps in disbelief, “Selena?”

The Abyssal witch felt a sudden jolt and her head started hurting. Memories, ones she thought she never had flashed before her, causing her excruciating pain.

“What is happening?” Selena screams holding her head.

Soon, the Abyssal Hoard comes rushing out of the city.

“Shit, they destroyed the machine!”

“There is no hope, fall back!” they screamed.

The demons came rushing out, running for their lives as they were being chased by as extremely pissed Sai’ore. They did however pick up the disoriented Selena along with them and fled, showing that they at least had the curtsey to not leave their comrades behind.

“But what of the sacred knowledge?”

“Lady Alice has managed to recover that but we need to flee now, the monster is coming!”

And so the demons were pushed back and the invasion was stopped. It was finally over!

“Hanabi!” Saya calls, rushing forward in a hurry and Hanabi couldn’t help but smile, “I am here!” she replies. Words could not describe how relieved the Sai’ore felt after finally hearing her human’s voice.

With a wide smile and tears of joy, Saya ran towards Hanabi with open arms. Hanabi smiled too and rushed towards her friend. The one who she wanted to see and be with her in her last breaths.

The smile on Saya’s face furrowed into a frown when Hanabi didn’t walk, but wobbled towards her. Her steps shaky and weak. Not able to bare her weight any longer, Hanabi’s legs gave away and she fell down on the ground.

The last thing she heard was Saya’s panicked voice before darkness consumed her…….


	60. Fading soul

It was over, the invaders had been fended off, the enemies had been defeated and the battle was won. The siege engine was destroyed and the bulk of the Abyssal army had been eradicated by their saviour.

They had done it!

They had survived through certain annihilation, all because of the stout efforts of a few valiant souls. Filled with joy, the Elven people of Moniya rejoiced at their victory, thanking their goddess and all the brave souls that had laid their lives today to defend their home.

However, their celebration didn't last long because a grave misfortune had befallen upon them. Hanabi no Iga, the person whom Saya Mahira held dearest, was dying. The Shadow Bringer's poison ran deep in her blood, tainting her body and sucked away the life force from her.

Saya tried, she tried so hard. Hanabi was rushed to the nearest physician to find a cure for her.

"Take whatever you want from me, but please save her!" begs Saya to the Doctor who was trying his best to pull out the poison from Hanabi's body with his magic. Even Saya herself sucked the poisoned blood from her human's wounds against the Doctor's advice but she didn't care. Her human was in danger and in that current situation all other matters sounded trivial to her.

Hanabi looked pale right now and blue veins could be seen on her skin. Her breathing had slowed down considerably and her body was losing its warmth.

"C-cold... I feel so cold..." she shudders. Immediately Saya came beside her and rubbed her human's palm. Hanabi turns to face the Sai'ore whose face was fear stricken, "It will be alright, meha Neha. You'll e alright. Just please, hang in there!"

A sad smile graced Hanabi's lips. Shedding tears, she speaks softly, "You were the first and only true friend I ever had. I am so glad to have known you..." these were her words, after which, the light in her eyes faded.

Her world seemed to shatter as Saya stood mortified. The Doctor checked Hanabi's pulse and shook his head solemnly, "Her soul now is in care of the Moon Goddess. May she rest in peace."

The Ancient Empress looked upon her human, 'No, it can't be...' with shaky hands she touched Hanabi's cheek which felt so cold, 'You can't be gone...' her eyes watered and her breath started getting ragged, 'You can't leave me...Not you too...' Tears fell freely down the eyes of the once proud warrior, now reduced into a sobbing mess. Saya held her human's cold body, cradling her in her arms as Saya's entire being broke down into sobs. Like the rain, her tears fell and she hugged Hanabi like her life depended upon it.

"No, please. You can't leave me. Not you too. You're all that I have left, please." She pleads, hoping and praying to anyone that would listen to bring back her human but reality came crushing back at her. Hanabi was gone; she had passed away, while Saya herself remained back, like always.

Miya and Nana came over as soon as possible upon hearing the news and felt deep sympathy for the woman who had saved their city in her murderous rampage.

"I am so sorry.... I understand your pain..." says Miya solemnly, trying her best to console the Sai'ore who was in pain. But, Miya's words had the opposite effect.

To think that a youngling such as her would even remotely understand the length of her pain was insulting. For Saya, Hanabi had been all that she had. The closest thing she had to a family. Her only reason to even exist after the destruction of her people by the hands of the cruel Kastiyans, her only anchor to keep her sane and now..... that anchor was gone.

Taken from her, ripped out of her hand when she was away.

Something inside Saya snapped, as if her mind broke, letting go of the last thing that held it together.

Miya frowned when Saya's sobs grew more severe. Her worry deepens when Saya cries desperately. Unable to see her in such a state, the elf moved forward to get near her, "Saya, please pull yourself together...."

That was when the damn broke.

The priestess was sent tumbling away when a shockwave surged out of Saya's body, "What the hell?"

However, worse was yet to come.

Her mind lost in grief and sorrow, Saya no longer wept.....she screamed. The Sai'ore's entire being got consumed in her extreme turmoil of emotion, thus Saya screamed, and with each screams, out came another shockwave.

The walls of the clinic were not strong enough to withstand the power that was leaking out of her and gave way, but Saya didn't care. Holding her human, she let out yet another wail.

It was ear splittingly loud, but it carried an ocean of sorrow within it that could be felt throughout the area. It hurt; it hurt so much, especially seeing her human's face. Her young and beautiful face that would always make her day whenever she smiled warmly at her and now, that smile had extinguished and it hurt her even more.

Saya's painful wails resonated throughout the city, causing the people to come looking for her in worry of what might have happened. This proved to be the worst thing to happen because Saya's attention was now upon the elven population of Moniya, the very people she just saved.

'These......were the people my Hanabi gave her life defending', she thinks bitterly. Then a dark thought entered her mind, 'If it weren't for them, she would have still been here....' Now this thought was stirring her up., 'This was not our fight, but we got dragged into it because of them...... And now, my Hanabi is no more.....' Her body was shaking with anger. Saya was many things but she was not forgiving, 'It's their fault; their fault that she is gone!'

The people whispered nervously as the once despairing woman slowly turned towards them with a very very pissed expression. Hell she looked down right murderous right now and it made them extremely nervous.

"Saya?" Miya tried to reach out for her but the Sai'ore was now in a trench. She heard nothing, not the voice Miya used to call her nor the voice of reason that was whispering in the back of her mind. It was illogical and cruel to conclude that it had been the Elves fault who had been as equal victims as herself, but right now, she couldn't see that.

Sorrow and anger had blinded her. Saya's emotions had been bottle up for so long that it just needed a spark and Hanabi's death was the very thing it needed to ignite. She always said to not let your emotions take control of yourself. Call her a hypocrite but everyone had their limits. This was her's.

Saya roars, her teeth out like a mad animal, she wanted to destroy them. She wanted to destroy every single one of those responsible for her loss. She would have charged at them, she would have ripped their throats out with her bare hands had not Irithel suddenly came before her and yelled, "Wait, there is still a way!"

The Sai'ore stopped at this and looked at the elf in confusion, wasting no time, Irithel blurted out hastily, "Up in the north lies The Mountain of the Centaurs. They guard the Fountain of Life residing deep within the mountain. Only that can save her!"

Irithel hoped against hope that the enraged Empress would listen to her and spare her kin, even if it meant that she was possibly dooming another city but she was desperate. Seeing how Saya fought, Irithel rightfully believed that they could not stop her and to see her ready to turn against them terrified her more than any fiends of Abyss ever had and she really didn't want to provoke her.

Fortunately, Saya, despite her broken state, actually heard the elf and acted immediately. Holding Hanabi in her arms, she took off towards the north, not even bothering to wait for Nhari who followed after her master.

Having just narrowly survived the wrath of the Ancient Sai'ore, Irithel falls down on her knees, wiping off the sweat that she had on her brow due to nervousness and fear.

Miya comes near and says in concern, "I hope you know what you're doing. No one has ever reached the fountain and lived to tell the tale."

The beast rider chuckled bitterly at this. She had seen the monster fight and she doubted that the centaurs would stand a chance. "It's centaurs that you should be worried about. I really hope that monster will ask first and attack later..."

"I just hope that Miss. Saya can save Hanabi." says Nana sadly with a small voice.

"I really hope so, little one." Sighs Irithel, "Because Goddess help us if it doesn't..."

\---X---

For four days and nights she ran, never stopping for break, Saya ran as fast as her legs could take her. Her destination was north and that was all she could think of. She had to reach there as soon as possible because this fountain was probably her only hope.

Thus she ran, even when her legs burned from overexertion, she ran. Totally ignoring whatever protest that her body had, she simply didn't have the time or luxury to do so. Saya didn't tire, didn't stop when her leg muscles tore because it would simply heal back. In her haste, she didn't realize that her faithful steed had been tailing her ever since she left Moniya, but even Nhari was having trouble keeping up with the Sai'ore.

Her hard work finally paid off for she at last reached her destination. There before her, on top of the snowy mountain rested a huge cathedral, one carved out from the very earth itself. A very majestic and magnificent sight, but Saya was not here for sightseeing.

Holding Hanabi in her arms, Saya made her way towards the top of the mountain, hoping against hope that this remedy would work. It had to work! It must work!

At last, she reached it. Just within a distance, she could see the Cathedral, the house of the Fountain of Life, Saya's last hope.

Seeing that that fountain really did exist, Saya moved forward with a new hope rising within her. However, before she could take another step, an arrow was shot towards her, missing her feet by an inch, a warning shot. The Sai'ore stops in her tracks when a hoard of strange creatures comes out from their hiding place.

Never had Saya seen such creatures before, with a torso of a human and the lower body of a horse, these creatures were truly a strange creation of this Land. Saya concludes that these were probably the centaurs that the Elves were talking about and they were blocking her way.

The leader of the centaurs, a huge individual wielding a massive mace, sporting a horned headdress says with a booming voice, "Who dares to trespass into the holy domain of the fountain?"

Having regained much of her senses, Saya answers, "I am Saya Mahira, and I need your help. Please save my Hanabi!" The Sai'ore pleads desperately to the Mighty Centaur, opting to try and settle this peacefully.

"She means worlds to me," she says with a broken voice, "I will do anything in return; take everything you would ask of me, but please... please bring her back."

Hylos had seen many seekers who had come to his fountain to lay claim to the secrets of Immortality. Some good, most bad, but all filled with the jealous desire to gain ever lasting life. Many years ago, He was charged to protect the awesome powers of the fountain from people such as those but now, the old centaur felt a different emotion towards the woman who had arrived at his door step with a dead girl in her arms.

Pity. That was what Hylos felt for the woman who begged. He looks at the human that had deceased. 'So young.... A pity indeed.' Never had he seen anyone else who had arrived on his domain, not to gain fortune or glory or some other ulterior ambitions, but for the sake of saving someone else, a noble goal indeed.

Sadly however, the girl was beyond saving for her soul had already passed on days ago. Remorsefully, the centaur speaks, "It is too late for her now. Give her a proper burial and let her soul rest in peace."

But the woman was not able to grasp the truth at all. Still she begs, "Please, don't say that! There must be something? Anything?"

"All has to leave this plane of existence in time, one way or another. It is inevitable. Go home and lay her to rest, Fair Lady." The Centaur says kindly. Never knowing how much the words that he uttered innocently would back fire at him.

"Home...." Saya mumbles lowly and ominously. Hylos didn't know what but her sudden change of demeanour worried him. Suddenly, they all felt it. A strange and foreign power, the ones like they had never felt before and its source was none other than the woman.

"HOME?" Saya suddenly snaps, releasing a wave of energy off her body that was shaking in uncontrollable rage. Tears of sorrow and rage cascaded down her eyes and her beautiful face twisted into a scornful snarl. Looking at the shocked Hylos in the eyes, she roars, "I have no home! My world, my people, all the ones I ever knew and loved are no more! They were all take away from me!"

Looking down upon her human, she tenderly stroke her cheek, "Meha Neha was the only anchor that kept me from drowning in insanity, she was the only light that kept me from my darkness and now......she is gone."

Then she looks at Hylose sharply and utters, "But the Fountain is the answer, it might be the only chance to save her..." Slowly the woman stands, the power that surrounded her intensifies. The ground trembled due to the sheer pressure of her energy and it was making them all weary. Slowly, a pair of huge ethereal snakes materialized behind her and Saya hissed, "So I come here not got your opinion, Mortal. Now stand aside and let me through or I will carve my way through all of you!" she roars dangerously.

However the centaurs didn't bulge form their position. Hylos narrows his eyes and growls, "Although I pity you, my patients has it limits. Leave no or I will be force to use force." He says and readies his weapon. His army ready for battle before him.

 **"So be it."** Saya growls and dashed forward.................. 


	61. Her dream

_It was just one of their days together when Hanabi was still learning what Saya had to teach her._

_The day had been long and tiring, thus Hanabi fell heavily upon the bedroll of their camp, while Saya was preparing dinner. Although her body hurt and she felt totally exhausted, Hanabi was very-very happy with herself due to all the progress she was making._

_Saya couldn’t help but smile seeing the young human become so excited. The Sai’ore agreed that the human was very fast learner, a protégée indeed. However, the way how Hanabi exerted herself really worried her time to time._

_“Easy there, Neha. You might break yourself if you push yourself too much.”_

_Hanabi grinned sheepishly at this, “Well, what can I say? I am just happy that I might be able to fulfil my dream after all.”_

_Her words confused Saya, thus she asks, “Your dream?”_

_The ninja girl nodded happily and declares, “Yes, I am going to be the strongest and greatest ninja ever!”_

_Saya shook her head, smiling at the contagious cheerfulness that her human possessed. Then Hanabi asks out of the blue, “What about you, Saya-chan? What is your dream?”_

_The Question was sudden, “My dream?” and Saya had no answer for it. Truthfully for all these years, Saya never really had any dreams to aspire. She had been just too busy being an Empress and now that she had nothing left, she had no idea that she even had one._

_However, Hanabi smiled and reassured her, “It’s okay, I am sure you will find your dream too. You just need to look for it.”_

_“My dream?” Saya asks._

_“Yes, your very own dream, one that will drive you!”_

That conversation on that distant past resonated in her mind over and over again. A fool she had been till now for not realizing that what she searched for the most was right before her all this time and Saya felt shame that it was this extreme loss that made her realize this simple truth.

Hanabi had asked her what her dream was. Saya could not answer that question before, but now she had her answer.

She will get Hanabi back and nothing was going to stand in Saya’s way.

\---X---

“Fall back!” the centaurs cried as they retreated deeper into their sanctum. Their eyes filled with terror as they fled, trying to escape the onslaught of the monster that had came knocking at their door step.

“This can’t be happening!”

“There is no time, get outta here!” the soldiers speak amongst each other.

Then followed yet another roar of the enraged woman who tore through their ranks, seeking retribution for the loss she had suffered.

Never had the proud race of Centaurs ever regretted their decision to stand up to someone because God have mercy on them but the Empress would not.

**A while ago…..**

“So Be It!” roars Saya and charged head on towards the centaur army.

Thinking what a single woman could possibly do against an entire army, the centaurs held back, opting to simply just suppress the woman in pain. They underestimated her severely and easily got their ass handed to them with impossible levels of skills.

Understanding that things would not work out with leniency, the centaurs used full force. They attacked with lances, spears, net and everything that they had. But to their astonishment, Saya shrugged off blows that would mortally wound someone, even the blows that were downright lethal. Her body would simply heal, no matter how many times they broke it. She still stood up and fought on like a cornered animal.

Things got worse when the centaurs ganged up on her, trying to use their superior physics to their advantage to overwhelm her. That was when Saya summoned her Ethereal Serpents who dispatched about ten warriors in a single sweep.

“I will not be merciful again, get out of my way and let me through!” she yells threateningly towards the nervous Guardians of the Fountain.

“Enough!”

Suddenly, Saya was blown backwards by a strong gush of wind and she had to bury her sword on the ground to stay put. However, the wind became stronger by each passing second and even she was having problems to hanging on. Slowly Hylos walked forward with a stern gaze.

“Enough now. While I understand your loss, that gives you no right to decimate our ambience. I, the chief Guardian of the Fountain, banish you!” he declares and the wind grew stronger and Saya started slipping.

‘No, I can’t lose…..Not right now.’ Saya held on despite how hard it was, annoying the centaur with her persistence.

“I know the likes of you, cowards who cannot face the truth.”

*Crack* Saya held the ground with her Ethereal serpents, finally getting a good grip. Lowly she utters, “You’re right….. I am a coward. I am a coward who no longer wishes to embrace the emptiness that would be left without her…” slowly the woman looks Hylos in the eyes. The Centaur gasps seeing the tear filled eyes of the Sai’ore that held furiosity like never seen before. “Call my tear my weakness all you want for these emotions are that drives me. It is a burden I bare everyday….. And I choose to embrace them!”

Using her serpents, Saya launched herself forward towards the Fountain Guardian. She pulled back her fist, “I am the coward and I embrace it!” with a mighty roar, Saya hit the centaur in the face with a mighty haymaker. The force was enough to send Hylos tumbling away while receiving heavy damage. Feeling very dizzy after the attack, the centaur fell to the ground, “I can’t believe this….” he chocks before fainting, leaving the rest of his army shell shocked.

However, it was not over because, the Sai’ore now set her eyes upon them.

**Present time…….**

With their leader down, Saya soared through the remaining forces like hot knife through butter. Hylos had been the strongest among the centaur and since he had been defeated; it was a huge blow to their moral.

The remaining centaurs fled towards the deeper parts of their sanctum, seeking refuge in the only place they could think of, the Fountain chamber. They rushed in and sealed the door, barricading it in hopes of stopping the monster who rampaged outside.

“Do you think it will hold her?”

“That is a metre thick door of limestone, ain’t nobody cracking that!”

As soon as the man said this, the door was thrown out of its hinges and crashed several feet away from its original position. Beyond that stood a very angry Saya who looked ready to eat them alive.

Nowhere else to run, the centaurs cowered and begged for mercy.

Suddenly, Saya realized where they currently were and looked around the huge chamber and there in the middle, she saw a massive pond with Chrystal clear water and above the pond, hanging from the chamber’s ceiling was a deep blue Chrystal.

This was the Fountain of Life!

In her joy, Saya forgot at the moment, her rage and spared the centaurs for she was too distracted by the task she had at hand.

Wasting on time, Saya rushed towards then pond.

She had made it at last!

But now, a new question arose. What was she supposed to do now?

Having no idea what to do, Saya turned towards the Centaurs and spoke, “Hey, you there!”

The colour on their face left and it was only after a good while before one brave fellow mustered up courage to speak out, “Y-yes, Milady?”

“How does the fountain work?” Saya questions sternly, making them all speechless. They looked at her as if she was insane, like as if they wanted to yell, ‘You came here without even knowing what to do??’ of course no one had the guts to actually say that in her face.

“W-Well, people normally, drink the fountain water but a dip in the water works too.” he answered nervously and that was all Saya needed to hear.

Tenderly, Saya laid Hanabi’s body in the waters and waited. She waited for something to happen, but all she got was……Nothing. A crippling realization crept in her heart. Something she absolutely didn’t want to admit at all, “What if …it’s too late?’

No……No, that can’t happen. It just can’t!

Saya kneels beside her human and whispers, “No, please. You have to come back. What of your dream? You can’t go without fulfilling your dream, right? Please, meha Neha, I am not strong enough to do this alone…” she weeps holding Hanabi’s cold body.

Her sobs echoing throughout the stone walls of the chamber as the Centaurs watched silently how their assailant cried and strangely, seeing that heart wrenching sight, they too felt sympathy.

The woman just held on to Hanabi like her life depended on it as tears fell down like waters of rain. She pleads, she prays, “Please…...Give me back my Hanabi…”

Silence surrounded them and the only sounds that remained were Saya’s sobs as she held on to her human.

Then out of the blue, from above came down a ray of light, shocking all of them. The source of the light was the crystal and it fell directly upon Saya and Hanabi, filling her with a warm sensation.

“You, being of another world…” a feminine voice echoes throughout the chamber, startling everyone in it. With her guard on, Saya demands, “What trickery is this? Who goes there?”

The voice answer loudly, “It is I, the Moon Goddess of this land, ruler of the night sky!” upon this declaration, the centaurs immediately bowed down to pay respects, but Saya stood still, uncertain how to react.

“What do you want from me?” she questions boldly, her voice not faltering even in the presence of a so called Goddess.

“I come because of the strength of your desire. It is you who have, in a way, summoned me.” Corrected the voice, causing Saya to perk up. Her prayers had been answered!

“Can you bring my Hanabi back?” Saya asked hopefully.

The voice stood silent for long while before speaking, “You poor-poor soul, Never have I peered into a soul as conflicted such as you, Oh Ancient One. A murderer, a tyrant, an usurper…..a monster. But……. Your selfless deeds weigh just as much as your evil ones. A mother, a protector, a nurturer….” The Goddess say on, “Your souls in heavy with your burden, but as a token of gratitude for saving my children on Moniya, I will heal your beloved…” Saya’s spirits got uplifted at this, but then the voice added, “But first you must give a sacrifice …”

“A sacrifice?” Saya asks but then the light faded from existence and went silent even after she called several times. A sacrifice, she demands, but what could Saya possibly give when she had nothing. The Sai’ore looks upon her human with a longing gaze, being so close yet so far. Her heart ached for her and Saya didn’t know how she would ever get by without her, especially now when her heart beats only for her.

Slowly, Saya realizes something; her heart, her heart that beats only for her human.

Without a second thought, Saya plunged her dagger into her chest, earning a gasp form the onlookers. Ignoring them, Saya grits her teeth and presses her dagger deeper into her rib cage. The pain was excruciating but she pressed on.

Once deep enough, Saya pulls out her own heart with her hand, shocking each and every one of the spectators, even the Moon Goddess. Slowly Saya kneels beside Hanabi and places her heart upon her, “It had always belonged to you. You asked me, what my dream was that day……You are my dream. Meta meha mahi kara, Meha Jai. I love you.”

Never had words been truer by her lips. The seer amount of love that Saya had for Hanabi moved the Moon Goddess and with tearful eyes, the Goddess granted Saya’s wish, “May you find eternal happiness…”

Hanabi slowly levitated in the air as her body glowed in a bright blue aura. Saya watched in awe as energy flowed within Hanabi’s body from all direction, slowly repairing her damaged body. Saya’s heart slowly diffused within the human’s chest and even Saya felt how her own traces of Maya energy got mixed within Hanabi. But the Sai’ore could care less because she actually saw Hanabi’s fingers twitch.

Her entire being burst in joy as Saya watched how life was being breathed back into her human. Sadly, since Saya had just removed her own heart, her body was starting to give in. Her vision blurred and she fell on the ground. However, she was happy. She was happy that she would see Hanabi again.

\---X---

Her vision comes back to her after what felt like years. Saya groans in pain as her body was still a bit sore. Her heart seemed to have regrown by now, meaning that she must’ve been out for a considerable amount of time.

She looks around and found that she was in a forest area and not the chamber of the Fountain. Making her wonder, ‘Was it all just a dream?’

Suddenly a voice calls, “You’re finally awake!”

Saya was stunned upon hearing that voice. That oh so familiar voice that she was dying to hear again. Slowly the Sai’ore looked up and gasped. There she stood, her human, standing before her, alive and well with a bright smile on her face.

Tear trickled down her face but not of sorrow, but of joy. Absolute joy. Saya immediately leaped up and scooped the very much surprised Hanabi in her arms, hugging her like there will be no tomorrow.

She was Alive! Her human was alive!...............


	62.  Old friend

Hanabi had no idea why but the last thing she remembers was triggering the explosives on the Siege engine and darkness. Then when she gained back her consciousness, she was in some sort of fountain surrounded by centaurs!

Never would she have imagined that she would see a centaur in her journey and Hanabi was absolutely thrilled upon seeing them. However, the centaurs themselves didn’t look so happy on seeing her. They were not hostile but looked rather terrified. Hanabi didn’t know why they would be so terrified of her.

She then thinks to herself, where was she?

How did she get here?

What happened to Moniya?

Sadly, the centaurs had no answers to her question, but they did politely request her to leave their mountain as soon as possible and Hanabi was like, “What mountain?”

Later she found out that she had indeed been transported to a far off mountain during she was unconscious and the place looked like it had recently been ravaged by an army. The ninja girl did panicked upon finding Saya knocked cold on the floor and it took a lot of convincing from the centaurs after which she finally believed that they had no part in Saya’s current condition.

Hanabi carried Saya out of the stone cathedral that served as a sanctuary for the centaurs. All the way, she saw many downed centaurs warriors, all knocked cold but fortunately not dead. ‘Who would do such a thing?’, Hanabi wonders as she walks outside. There at the entrance, their horse Nhari awaited, who looked very surprised upon seeing Hanabi.

With the horse’s aid, Hanabi’s job became much easier because now she would not have to carry Saya anymore. The horse did however look extra grumpy somehow and Hanabi wonders what could have possibly happened to upset the horse so much.

The mountain was very cold and Hanabi lead the horse down the mountain where the climate was much friendlier to her. Thankfully Nhari still had the supplies stashed on her so the kunoichi started to set up a camp for them. Not long after, Saya stirred awake and Hanabi greeted her joyously. What she did not expect was for Saya to scoop her in her arms and hug her.

“You’re okay…. You’re okay….” Saya says breathlessly, as if she was reassuring herself that Hanabi was okay. The ninja girl even felt tears trickling down the Sai’ore’s eyes, thus forcing her to wonder, ‘What the hell happened when I was out??’

\---X---

Saya was genuinely surprised that Hanabi knew nothing of what happened. ‘This is for the best.’ Saya decided. The memory of one’s own death is a burdening one and she did not wish to scar her innocent human.

That did mean that she would have to answer Hanabi sooner or later, so right now, Saya sated Hanabi’s curiosity with half-truths. She told her that Hanabi was ill and she had to bring her to the centaurs to heal her, leaving out the parts where she had to fight off an entire army on her own and cut out her own heart out for her return.

It was quite strange if you think about it, because now, in a way, it was Saya’s heart that beats inside Hanabi but Saya didn’t mind. It belonged to her human long ago and now, it was a token of the love she felt for her.

Hanabi did ask however what happened to Moniya. Honestly, Saya was still quite cross with the elven people but now that Hanabi was well, she would not hold grudge. Truthfully Saya said that the city had been saved and the people would rebuild their home in time. However, when Hanabi suggested that should they go to lend a hand the Sai’ore made a stoic face and says firmly, “They will manage…” her sudden change in demeanour really surprised Hanabi but that was not the only change she noticed in her teacher.

You would have to be blind to not notice how affectionate Saya was being recently. While it was not that Saya was not affectionate previously, it was just that she had been a tad bit more ever since. Her embraces grew warmer and longer, she would gently smooch her forehead now and then and whenever she looked in Saya’s eyes, Hanabi could not really explain it but Saya held a very deep emotion that Hanabi could not recognise but yet it filled her with a deep sense of security and compassion.

Hanabi didn’t mind it though. Those sweet caresses that she would give, those touches that lingered a bit longer than usual or those cold nights that were spent within the warm hold of Saya’s soft yet strong arms. Hanabi did not mind it at all. In fact, she actually loved all the attention that she was getting and Hanabi absolutely loved how Saya was spoiling her with all the loved.

Days passed by, their relationship just seemed to deepen ever since.

“You’re doing great, meha Jai.” Saya compliments with a smile while deflecting Hanabi’s attack. In turn Hanabi chuckled to herself at the new name Saya had started calling her by. Although the ninja girl had learned some of the Sai’oren language, Saya would still not tell her what it meant. She would simply blush and laugh it off. Right now, they had been training like always but the difference could be felt.

Hanabi was faster and stronger than she ever was. The ninja girl may not have felt the difference but her opponent certainly could. Maybe having Saya’s heart beat inside her did more than just bring her back to life. Now Saya would have to monitor how much further had her heart affected her human.

They sparred for a long time, both with and without arms. Satisfied by the amount of improvements that she had seen in Hanabi, Saya stopped the training for the day. The girl had come a long way and now, Saya decided that it was time. It was time for Hanabi to become more than just an assassin. It was time that she becomes a true warrior.

So without telling Hanabi the true nature of their visit, Saya led her flock towards the town of Wooden-Cross which according to Saya’s map, was the Northern most settlement of the human empire of Moniya, just at the border of Nost Gal the frozen province.

Giving Hanabi a few coins, Saya send the girl to find them a decent place to stay in the town and perhaps even go exploring a bit. Since this was something that they would do whenever they entered a town, Hanabi thought nothing of it and went on to carry out Saya’s request while the Sai’ore herself went the other way to carry out her own plan.

Being so close to Nost Gal most blacksmiths here were originally from north who settled down in Moniay to make fortune. With them they brought their legendary craftsmanship native of Nost Gal and ever since, Wooden-Cross was known for its blacksmiths and metal workers.

Saya searched for one such blacksmith that could help her in her predicament. Which was not much of a problem as she now stood before one of the various blacksmith shops in the town.

“Howden Iron shield’s metal works…” Saya mutters reading the name board. The shop looked decent, neither too fancy nor too shabby, just the way she liked it. Saya walked inside and was greeted with a sight of a typical blacksmith’s shop. The entire room filled with several assortments of weapons, ranging from daggers to spears and even shields and armours of various kinds.

A blast furnace sat at the corner of the shop where a tall old man was beating a red hot piece of metal with his hammer over an anvil.

“You know the secret of steel?” the old man says while beating the metal, “It won’t take shape until u beat it while it’s hot. So are people, they won’t change until they are beaten…” he then puts the red piece of metal into a bucket filled with water and turns back towards the Sai’ore, “Welcome to my shop. How can I help you?”

Saya looks around, examining some of the weapons that the man had made, judging the quality of the weapon with her eyes and hands. “I believe you are a man who understands his metal well?”

The man laughs and answers, “I think know the answer to that, Young Lady, or you would not stay here. From the look of your eyes, you understand your weapons well, and that’s why you didn’t leave as soon as you examined my weapons.”

Impressed, Saya lets out a smile, “I suppose I do.” She then walks forward and asks, “Do you take custom weapon orders?”

The man rubbed his chin and replies, “Well, it depends. Do you have written plans for your weapon?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” Saya replies and gives the man a scroll from her satchel. Saya had been planning this for a very very long time and thus, she had prepared the plans of the sword for Hanabi long before current time. For a Hrontree’haaree, swords were a very special part of their life. Many of them had weapons handed down from their fathers or mothers upon reaching of age and some would have new ones specifically forged to suit them. Such was the plans Saya had made for Hanabi because it was now time that her human truly became a warrior of her order.

The man inspects the plans and lets out a low whistle, “Damn, Never seen the likes of these before but that’s some real masterpiece right here.”

“Think you can make it?”

“Hehe, I sure do love challenges. But it’s going to cost you, Young lady.” Saya rolled her eyes at this and placed a sack of gold on his counter. The black smith laughed, “Listen, I like you, but a man’s gotta eat ya’know.”

The Sai’ore narrowed her eyes, “Fine…” She then placed two more sacks of gold on the counter, “But I want to done by tomorrow or I get a full refund.”

The man laughs, “Deal, missy. I’ll send a messenger to you once it’s done. You can come to retrieve it.”

“Much appreciated.” Says Saya and leaves the shop. She sighs because she had just spent all the money that she had collected till now!

But for her human, she was willing to sacrifice anything. Thus with a bright smile, she walks forward, eager to give Hanabi her surprise tomorrow.

\---X---

Finding her human was not so hard this time, Saya found Hanabi trying out some local cuisines not far from the blacksmith’s shop. Upon seeing Saya the ninja girl quickly ran up to her and gave her a hug. The Sai’ore returned the hug whole heartedly, feeling genuinely happy after such a long time. A sensation that Saya had nearly forgotten.

Night had fallen and the two were making their way towards the inn where Hanabi had booked a room for them.

“I hope you didn’t have any trouble with Nhari while finding her a stable. The old horse is still cross with me.” asks Saya.

Hanabi chuckles at this and replies, “I have no idea what you possibly did but she was really upset with you. But I did found a stable for her alright. Still I suggest that you make up to whatever you did to her.”

The Sai’ore smiles sheepishly, “As you say, Meha Jai.”

The girl couldn’t help but laugh at this. “You are unbelievable.” She exclaims and moved closer to Saya and hugging her, who in turn out her arm over her human. Saya gave a small peck on Hanabi’s head, “What would I do without you…”

The human smiles softly and holds the Sai’ore’s hand reassuringly. Bliss was the feeling Saya felt right now. Accompanied by the one she loved under the starry night sky. This was all she needed. She could spend an eternity like this.

However, Saya could not help but have this feeling in her gut that something was watching her. An unknown force that was looking over her and it didn’t settle well with her.

That was the same feeling that she felt when they were having dinner in the inn. Although Hanabi was oblivious, Saya was able to catch a glimpse of this figure that had been looking at them. His whole figure was obscured by a cloak and his subtle gaze had been so deceptive that no one noticed that he had been stalking them. However, Saya was able to notice him and she wasn’t happy about it.

‘Assassins sent by the Abyss perhaps?’ she thinks. So she slowly turns back towards her food and says lowly to Hanabi, “Someone has been following us.”

This caused Hanabi’s eyes to widen in surprise, “Where?”

“Calm down or he will know that we have detected him.” Saya scolds lowly, making Hanabi bite her tongue. The elder woman sighs and instructed, “Firstly, let’s finish the food. The meat is well cooked.” Hanabi could not agree more.

Once they finished their dinner, they initiated the second part of their plan, “Now, we go out for a nice ‘after dinner stroll.’ “

As expected, their stalker moved after them, keeping himself concealed, believing that he had not been detected till now. Hanabi and Saya walked through the alleyway casually while talking merrily about their new training and how well it was going.

The Stalker moved right after them, trying to catch up with them, hoping to take them by surprised. He did catch up with them but to his confusion, there only seemed to be Hanabi in the alley with no sign of the tall woman.

“Where did she…” he got his answer soon enough as a familiar figure of Saya dropped from above and pinned the masqueraded stalker down on the ground. “Got you now!” Saya hissed but to her surprise, her victim squeaked. Frowning, Saya pulled the cloak off the stalker and was flabbergasted to learn that their stalker was actually a girl.

A very short girl, barely reaching Saya’s elbows. She had show white hair, wore a blue kimono and seemed to be wielding some kind of umbrella. An Umbrella!

The Petite girl smiles nervously and says, “Um…Hi?”

Saya was really confused what was going on. That was until she heard Hanabi’s cry from ahead. After that, all Saya saw was red.

\---X---

When Saya uncovered their so called stalker, Hanabi was really really shocked. She really could not believe her eyes as she saw the girl that Saya had just apprehended. “Kagura? What the hell is she doing here?”

Then she realized one small thing, ‘If Kagura is here, then he must be….’ No sooner had she said this, she was suddenly scooped up by someone who carried her up to a rooftop and Hanabi let out a surprised cry, “Eeeeeph!”

However, she was no longer the old Hanabi, thus as soon as they stepped on hard surface Hanabi whipped around and held her assailant by his hand. He was too surprised by this sudden resistance and Hanabi held the person in a headlock. But in a brilliant display of skill, the man counter grabbed Hanabi.

Fortunately, Hanabi was prepared for this all thanks to her teacher, thus as soon as the man had her in his grip, Hanabi broke free using the technique Saya taught her, much to the man’s surprise, she held his arm and hurled him over her shoulder and down he fell on the ground. Wasting no time, Hanabi now held him in a special lock hold and this time, he was not able to break free.

“Arrgh, I see that you’ve grown stronger.” The man finally speaks and Hanabi’s eyes widened in surprised. ‘Hey, I know that voice!’

The ninja girl let go of the man, letting him stand up properly and turn towards her. Her guess was right. There standing before her, wearing that black shinobi robe was none other than Hayabusa.

“I must say, that was helluva mean trick Hanabi-san. You gotta teach me that!” he compliments, causing Hanabi to blush brightly while her heart skipped a beat.

‘Ok, Hanabi, stay focused.’ She calms herself and asked, “What are you doing here?”

Hayabusa dusts himself off and answers, “Well you see…” whatever he was going to say died in his throat because a sword got embedded on the wall right next to him, missing his face by a mere inch.

“What the hell?”

After that, all they heard was Saya’s furious war cry as she charged towards them, specifically towards Hayabusa. The shinobi didn’t get chance to react and so Saya shoved the man away, totally not hearing Hanabi’s cry of protest as both Hayabusa and Saya crashed down towards the ground.

Hayabusa was disoriented for a while but Saya had already recovered and was on to him. The shinobi dodged her attacks, “Saya-dono, there has been a terrible misunderstanding!” he tries to reason but it all fell on deaf ears. He had tried to harm her Hanabi, thus he had to suffer. No one was taking her Hanabi away from her. **NO ONE!**

Understanding that reasoning was out of question, Hayabusa had no choice but to fight back and try to subdue her but easier said than done. No matter how much he tried, he could not land a hit on her simply because Saya vastly out skilled him. It was only his outstanding agility that was making him viable in the battle because it made it harder for Saya to catch him and she was getting more annoyed by passing moment.

‘Looks like I have no other choice…’ thinks the shadow clan shinobi with gritted teeth. He had to use his ultimate technique.

“Shadow kill!” he yells, transforming into a shadow and bolting towards Saya. Upon seeing this Hanabi screams, “NO!!”

But it was too late. Using his Ougi Shadow Kill technique, Hayabusa inflicted massive damage upon Saya. With his blade, he practically shredded her body. Blood oozed outta her body like rivers and Saya finally fell to her knees. Finally deciding that this was enough, Hayabusa materialized before the heavily breathing Saya who had deep cuts all over her body. He had taken care not to hit anything vital but that didn’t mean it was a pretty sight. “This could have been avoided, but you wouldn’t listen.” He says solemnly while sheathing his sword (ninja style).

However, this wasn’t over.

Letting out a low grumble, Saya slowly stood up, making Hayabusa shell shocked, “Impossible! I had just cut your tendons!”

As an answer, Saya gave the offending human a solid haymaker sending him tumbling away. A bit dazed he looked back at his opponent and watched in horror as all of Saya’s wounds healed before his own eyes. All his fighting till now was for nothing!

Suddenly Saya rushed towards him and Hayabusa had to use his quad shadow to get away, making her even more frustrated than before. He was a slippery one and she couldn’t wait to get her hands on her.

Back with Hanabi, Kagura had caught up with her and asked where Hayabusa was. Honestly, Hanabi was not so thrilled to meet her, but she had others concerns right now. “Come on, Kagura-san we must reach them before they get hurt!”

Kagura frowned in worry at this, “You are right Hanabi-san. Let’s go before your friend gets hurt!”

Hanabi simply chuckles at the absurdity of Kagura’s concern. The ninja girl just hopes that Saya would not kill Hayabusa before they arrive.

Back with Hayabusa and Saya, the Sai’oren had enough of the shinobi’s bullshit and thus she now used her ethereal serpents. They were finally able to catch Hayabusa and this was all the chance she needed.

Once getting a hold of the Ninja, Saya gave him a beating like he had never got before. Every type of beating imaginable was what he received, so much that he was actually begging her to stop.

Hanabi actually had to come over and stop Saya before she nearly strangled Hayabusa to death.

“Saya-chan please stop, they are my friends form back home!” Hanabi tells her.

With a shocked face, Saya asks dumbly, “Say what now?”………..


	63.  Jealousy

The situation was really awkward right now as both the parties looked at each other with uncertainty.

“We should probably head back to the inn before any further discussion.” suggested Hanabi. They all agreed to her.

The walk back to the inn had been silent and tense and once they were there, Hanabi asked Saya to patch up Hayabusa’s wounds which the Sai’ore did, abet reluctantly. (She is still mad that he tried to hurt Hanabi)

The tension was thick between the two groups, especially Saya who was looking at them with distrustful eyes. Clearing her throat, Hanabi introduces them, “Okay, Saya-chan, meets my friends back from Iga. Hayabusa and Kagura…” The petite girl gave a small waved with a smile and Hayabusa who was covered in bandages gave a bow. “Guys, this is…” Hanabi was going to introduce her new teacher but Kagura chirps happily, “I know who she is. She is the Savior of Mossenia, Saya Mahira. I never imagined that would actually meet you!” she says happily but her cheer died down when she saw that Saya had been looking at them with a cold daze that instantly made her shut up as a deep sense of fear took hold of her.

The way she look, Saya didn’t not seemed happy, this was evident even more so when she spoke stoically, “I didn’t knew that the way of greeting friends in Iga was to stalk and attack them?” even if she sounded calm, the anger underneath Saya’s words was felt by both Hanabuysa and Kagura, who gulped nervously. They had really pissed off the Sai’ore and it would be wise for them to made amends fast unless they faced her wrath.

“You see, Saya-dono…” speaks Hayabusa carefully, pulling Saya’s focus entirely upon the masked shinobi. The Shadow Ninja took a breath and answered, “It was actually a test; a test to see whether Hanabi was ready for the task ahead or not.”

His answer created visible confusion among both Saya and Hanabi. The Sai’ore did however was not thrilled by this and wanted to scold the reckless brat for nearly hurting Hanabi and himself, but before any of that can happen, Hanabi quickly asked, “What test? What are you talking about?”

Now it was Kagura’s turn to answer, “Well, frankly, what Haya-kun wants to say is…. That we need your help.”

Hanabi’s eyes widened in total surprise, “Help? Why would you need my help?”

At this, Hayabusa gave a worried glance towards Saya and turned towards Hanabi. He then speaks to her in Japanese, “It’s about the Akuma Ninja.” This felt like a brick hitting her head as Hanabi remembers the very reason why she had came to the Land of Dawn in the first place.

‘How could I forget that!!’ she had been so busy with her lessons from Saya and the events that followed that she had totally forgotten about him.

The way how Hayabusa spoke to Hanabi in Japanese didn’t go unnoticed by Saya. He must’ve done it to make sure that sensitive info would not be heard by outsiders but it did really feel insulting to the Ancient Sai’ore. But upon seeing Hanabi react so drastically, she couldn’t help but ask, “What happen? What did he say?”

The Kunoichi quickly turned towards her and nearly screamed, “How could I have forgotten about the Akuma Ninja!”

Honestly, even Saya had forgotten about that encounter that happened so long ago. Thus she nodded in realization and concludes, “Ah, your original mission.”

Finding out that Saya knew about their supposedly secret mission, both Hayabusa and Kagura yelled at Hanabi, “YOU TOLD HER?”

Sweating preposterously, Hanabi says sheepishly, “Well, she is officially my Sensei and you know; no secrets from Sensei. hehehe….”

A bit confused, Kagura tilts her head. But Hayabusa understood it and turned towards Saya in shock, “So you were the one who taught her? No wonder I did not recognised the move she used earlier.” He says in awe.

With her chest swelling with pride, Saya says proudly, “Yes. Hanabi has been under my wing for fairly less amount of time, yet she has learned what others would have taken years to achieve.”

The Kunoichi beamed happily at Saya’s praise but when Hayabusa added, “Indeed. You have grown stronger than ever, Hanabi-san. Congratulations!” Hanabi felt her cheeks turn red as a tomato and her stomach started doing flip-flops. Rarely would the Shadow Ninja compliment her like such and to hear him outright praise her like that made her feel this strange sensation in her belly like it had always did back home.

“B-Baka snot nose shadow…” she mumbles, making both Hayabus and Kagura to laugh merrily, “You have not changed much it seems, Hanabi-san.” Hearing his kind words, Hanabi couldn’t help but smile as well.

Oblivious to them all, Saya had been watching and she saw didn’t settle right with her. She could feel a knot within her, especially seeing the look within Hanabi’s eyes.

‘No, it cannot be….. Hanabi would not….’ Fearing her own answer, Saya quickly changes the topic, “So, what’s this about the Akuma Ninja.”

The atmosphere of the room changed drastically at the mention of that name. The shadow shinobi took a deep breath and spoke, “As you already know, Hanzo was once a part of our clan, until he betrayed our order and is now on a run. I was sent by the elders to track him down and defeat him.”

Saya frowned at this, “If that was the case, why didn’t you travel along side Hanabi?”

Both Hayabusa and Kagura laughed at this while Hanabi looked very embarrassed. So to clear Saya’s confusion, the shadow shinobi explains, “Actually, we were the ones sent after Hanzo. Hanabi kinda just ran off without telling anyone that she would go after Hanzo. Even we didn’t know until her parents sent us a letter.”

Kagura giggled at this while Hanabi blushed madly in embarrassment. Saya looked at her with a look that said, ‘We will talk later.’

It took a while for them to recover before they could carry on with their story. Hayabusa clears his throat, “As I was saying, we were sent after Hanzo and it took us quite while to track him.”

Kagura puffed her cheeks and says grumpily, “The people were very unhelpful and uncooperative. They didn’t talk because we were outsiders.”

Hayabusa continues, “That’s reason why it took us a lot of time, but we finally found him. We thought we could take him, but we were wrong….” Saya had a vague idea where this was going to because the same happened to Hanabi. Kagura shudders and says in a haunted voice, “He was too strong and fast. It was like he was everywhere.”

Hayabusa nods, “He had grown more powerful. I have even heard that he basically went on a rampage and killed countless people just to get stronger. He has gone mad.”

“He was always yelling, ‘I will get you!’ or ‘You will pay for humiliating me!’. He seemed absolutely nuts. I wonder who pissed him off so much.”

At this, Hanabi looked upon Saya and says with a deadpan expression, “I think he is holding a grudge.”

“It would seem so.” Replied Saya nonchalantly.

The two looked at them in confusion and asked for an explanation. Their confusion turned quickly into shock and disbelief when Hanabi proudly declared, “We had tracked him long ago. And Saya kicked the shit outta him.”

“What?? No way!!” exclaims Kagura with a very very shocked face.

“Well, it was mostly because Hanabi here ran off without me to apprehend The Akuna ninja and I had to save her hide.” Corrects Saya.

“Hey, I said I was sorry!”

But Hayabusa posed a rather serious question, “Why didn’t you him down when you could have? Several lives could have been saved!”

Saya stood silent at this, knowing what the young man was trying to say. Yet without hesitation, she answers, “It was not my place to slay him. That right belongs to you three and I will not deny Hanabi her destiny.” Her words touched Hanabi.

They stayed in silence for a while before Hanabi asks, “So, what do we do now?”

Hayabusa answers, “We must go after the Akuna ninja and end his tyranny!” he says with determination.

“Yeah, and with Hanabi-san and Saya-dono at outside, we can surely win this!” Adds Kagura cheerfully.

The Sai’ore looks upon her human to see what she thought. Hanabi looked towards Saya with a hopeful look, making to crystal clear of what she wanted. Releasing a sigh, Saya declares, “Fine, we move out tomorrow.”

Hanabi instantly hugged Saya while saying ‘Thank you’ over and over.

\---X---

Hammers fell upon the tempered metal as the old black smith worked upon what may have been his greatest creation yet. His recent patron had been eager and generous and he himself had been willing to seek the thrill of making a new master piece. Today was the day that he completed the blade that he was tasked to make and he was really excited to show it to his customer. He sent out a messenger to inform her and soon after, Saya arrived back at his humble shop, eyes gleaming with anticipation to see her end product.

“Welp, here it is…” The Black smith says holding a sheathed curved sword, “The curve was quite difficult to make, especially for a blade that thick and the compound cross guard was the trickiest, but here it is.” He hands over the sword to Saya.

Inspecting it with judging eyes, Saya removed the scabbard and exposed the blade.

“Akambane….”the ancient Sai’ore mutters as she gazed upon the beautiful blade. The weight and balance was just right, the metal was well tempered and the edge was sharp as hell. It was indeed a very fine blade.

“I hope you like it, Missy, because I freaking stayed up all night for that thing.” declares the blacksmith proudly.

Saya smiled and thanked him, “It is a very well made blade. You have my deepest gratitude, Mr. Howden.”

“Just doing what I get paid for, Missy. It was nice doing business with you.”

With the new weapon in her hand, Saya moved out of the shop. She wrapped the sword with a cloth, then thinks, how should she present the sword to Hanabi.

“’Here is a gift for you, meha Jai. Now you are a warrior!’…No, too dramatic. ‘Take this and get ready for your new training!’…Nope, that too direct. Maybe I should hide the sword within her bag as a surprise? ... But that’s too cheesy…” the Empress brainstorms to think of a perfect way to give the gift to Hanabi as she returned back to the inn.

They were supposed to leave the town today and initiate their hunt for the Akuma Ninja and had only stayed a while on Saya’s request because she needed to pick up Hanabi’s gift.

However, her will extinguished when she saw the sight before her. There, before her very eyes, Hanabi was having a very animated conversation with her old friends. Saya could not understand what they were talking about because they were talking in Japanese but whatever they were talking about, Hanabi seemed to be very happy.

Catching up with old friends was not unheard of and Saya really didn’t mind that. In fact, seeing her human so happy made her happy. But what didn’t settle right with her was the few stolen glances that Hanabi would take of Hayabusa whenever he wasn’t looking and honestly, Saya really did not wanted to believe that she recognised that look that Hanabi’s eyes held.

‘It’s nothing. It’s nothing really.’

They must’ve spotted her, that’s why Hayabusa turned towards her and greeted, “Saya-dono, I hope that you have finished all your businesses?”

“W-well, yes actually. It’s just… I thought you all were quite busy with your conversation.” She shuttered involuntarily, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Hanabi.

“Oh, it’s nothing really, me and Hanabi were just catching up after a long time. The adventures that she speaks of is extraordinary, I salute your bravery.” The ninja girl flushed at this and rubbed her head in embarrassment, while Saya internally rolled her eyes, ‘A smooth talker.’

“Hey, Saya-chan. What is that?” asked Hanabi seeing the cloth wrapped article that Saya held. The older woman contemplated whether she should give it to her right now or not. She had no idea why, but this didn’t feel like the right time to give it to her.

“It’s nothing. We should move on.”

Hanabi frowned at this, smelling Saya’s distress a mile away, but didn’t say anything for now. They just carried on with their journey to hunt the Akuma ninja.

All day, Saya saw the signs. Those star-eyed-gazes, those hearty laughs and those few accidental touched that would leave either of them equally frustrated. Saya wanted to ignore it. She really wanted to believe that there was nothing outta ordinary, but the more she saw, the more testaments she got and it was twisting her heart.

The whole day they travelled till they reach their destination. A small ruin where, according to Hayabusa was where the Akuma ninja dwells. They set up a camp for the night and decided to continue their search tomorrow.

As usual, it was Saya who cooked food and now, we find them having dinner near the bonfire.

Hanabi was yet again reciting one of their stories; this one was about how she had infiltrated the tournament as Sir. Thonius and how she won. Hayabusa listened with rapt attention, looking upon Hanabi with awe and admiration and it was making her mouth sour.

“I never had such adventures till now, you really are fortunate, Hanabi-san.”

“Hehe, I guess I am.” Both smile warmly at each other……. While Saya watched with an aching heart.

“You know, they have been always like this…” whispers Kagura to her, oblivious of Saya’s distress. Frowning at the little short girl’s words, she enquired further, “What do you mean?”

Making sure that Hanabi and Hayabusa were not listening to her, Kagura grinned and says giddily, “They both were rivals since they were kids. But they also have had crush on each other ever since…Kyaah, it’s so cute!!” the girl nearly screamed outta excitement. “I mean, they both like each other but are extremely dense, Hanabi-san is too shy and tries to hide it with her tsundere act and Hayabusa-kun is just too dumb, I wish they would just stop and kiss already….”, and so the white haired girl kept one babbling, not even realizing that she had just destroyed Saya’s mind.

Her heart seemed to have been broken into so many pieces. Seeing Hanabi, her human, her love, looking upon someone else with eyes filled with love. Saya couldn’t do this. She needed to get outta here.

“E-excuse me….” She chocks out and stands up. Without a word, Saya walks away towards the forest, leaving behind the rest of the three very confused.

“What was that about?” Kagura mutters, however Hanabi frowns. She had noticed that Saya had been kinda distressed lately but with her being occupied with her friends. She was kinda too busy to check up on her. But that didn’t mean Hanabi would not go after her teacher, thus she stood up and followed after Saya.

“Saya-chan, wait up!”

Saya’s strides were long and hurried and Hanabi had to sprint after her teacher just to catch up with her, “Saya-chan this isn’t funny!” says Hanabi catching her by her hand and turned Saya to face her. What even scolding Hanabi had to say to Saya died down when she say tears falling down the gorgeous Sai’ore’s eyes, making the ninja girl panic.

“Saya, what’s wrong? What happened?”

However, all Saya could say was some incoherent mutterings in Sai’oren tongue that Hanabi could hardly understand.

“Saya, please let me help you. What’s wrong?” pleads Hanabi holding Saya’s hand. This made Saya weep even more. It was then she uttered something that Hanabi could understand, “How could you do this to me?”

No amount of words could express how shocked Hanabi was right now.

Was this because of her? 

Was she the reason why there were tears flowing down Saya’s eyes?

Hanabi didn’t know. She doesn’t even know how she was at fault. Saya kept saying that and it was eating her out. The human holds Saya’s hand firmly, she asks, “Please tell me, Saya-chan. What is wrong? Tell me how to fix this?”

“You could have told me. I would have withdrawn. You could have just told me.” Says Saya with a broken voice, further stabbing Hanabi with guilt. She cups Saya’s face and asks, “Then please tell me. Tell me, what I did wrong? How can I fix this, please....”

The Sai’ore looks upon her human, her deep blue eyes filled with worry. She feels her soft hands upon her cheeks; they felt so warm and inviting. Then Saya remembers the truth. And the truth was….Her human was never hers.

It tore her heart into so many mays. Saya could not face it, she was not strong enough to face it. Suddenly she let go of Hanabi’s hands and bolted away into the forest, leaving Hanabi alone, confused and broken. “Saya-chan!” she screams.

But alas, the pain of betrayal left Saya’s senses dull. She kept repeating, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”…………..


	64. Final battle

“Saya-chan!!”, Hanabi yells, running through the forest. She really had no idea what happened but even since Saya ran off into forest she too had tried to follow after her, but the Sai’ore was too fast and wasn’t long before she lost her.

“Saya-chan!!” she calls but Saya doesn’t answer, leaving her all alone in the forest. Hanabi doesn’t understand why she would do that. She doesn’t even know what her fault was, but it left her with the sensation of guilt like none other. Thus she had to find her. She must find her.

“There she is!” a voice calls from behind. Hanabi turns around and found out that it was Kagura and Hayabusa. “We heard your screams from the camp and came to check up on you, is everything okay?” asked Hayabusa worriedly.

“Where is Saya-dono?” asked Kagura, her question making Hanabi sad. “I don’t know…..” she says sulking, “I think it is my fault, but I don’t even know what I did.”

Frowning, Hayabusa kept a comforting hand of her shoulder which Hanabi deeply appreciated. “I’m sure she will be fine. We just have to talk to her.”

Kagura however was in a deep thought, “Hmm, I wonder why she would run away though…”

“You have any idea what happened, Kagura?” asked the shadow shinobi.

“Don’t know for sure. I mean, she did go nuts when I said that you two have a crush on each other.”

After she said those words, both of them blushed like crazy.

“KAGURA!!” they yell in embarrassment.

“What? You do.” She states as a matter of fact, making them even more frustrated.

Mustering up courage, Hayabusa says with a shy voice, “Is it true, Hanabi-san? ...That you…um… Like me?” Having him ask such a question to her was really embarrassing right now. But still she says timid, “Well…. I kinda always did… You?”

“Me too.”

Kagura couldn’t help but squeak like a fan girl, ‘Finally they said it!’

But their happy union ended when a deep voice echoed throughout the forest, “Hahaha, so sweet. I think you deserve a little happiness before you all die.”

That voice sounded evil, sinister and demonic, it sent them all on guard as they waited for the owner of the voice to reveal himself. Soon a dark figure emerged from the shadows. They all gasped realizing exactly who it was.

“Hanzo?”

The terrifying Akuma let out maniacal laugh, “We meet again, ninjas.”

\---X---

Saya ran deep into the forest, her thoughts and her emotions racing in her mind like never before. So many things she felt at the same time.

She had given everything to Hanabi, her love, her care, her knowledge and literally, even her heart. Yet still Hanabi loved someone else. She felt so betrayed and it hurt so much.

“How could she? After all that I did for her, how could she use me as such?” she mutters to herself as she falls to her knees. Before her stood a small puddle of water, on it she saw her own reflection under the moonlit night. She looks at herself and asks, “Was it me? Did I do something wrong? Was I not good enough?”

No one answered her questions because she had been all alone. She looks in the puddle once more, muttering to herself, “I gave her everything I had, everything I could, yet… it wasn’t enough…”

‘Like how Alice had?’ says a voice in the back of her mind making Saya’s eyes widen in surprise. “Who is there?” she calls, but nothing answered. It was like in her solitude and grief, the barrier between reality and imagination was blurring, perhaps that was the reason why she saw that her reflection on the puddle started moving on its own.

“It’s like everything is coming to a circle, yes? We broke Alice’s heart and in turn Hanabi broke ours…” her reflection says, causing Saya to frown, “But I never meant to do it. She knew my priorities, I never wanted to choose.”

“Then Hanabi never wanted to choose either, was it not we who turned away?” the reflection says. Her own words making Saya angry, “But how could she? After all that we did? After all the sacrifices I made for her? How could she reject my love?”

“Does she even know of our love for her?” those words that the reflection uttered left Saya speechless. The voice continues, “Our love for her has always been more practical and never verbal, she probably doesn’t even know we love her…”

“But how can she not know? The signs were clear as crystal!”

“She is not a Sai’ore, she doesn’t know our ways..”

“But, I….”

“It was her choice to love someone else. She loved him before we even stepped on this world. Is sweet Hanabi really at fault simply because she loved someone else? That we were not direct in our words?”

The more she heard, the more Saya saw the logic. Hanabi was never hers, never will be. Her heart was claimed by someone else before she even had the chance and here she was, unfortunate to try and fall for a girl already in love.

Thus Saya falls to her knees, her mind stopped. She had no idea or the will to do anything now. All was lost to her.

“Not ever thing is lost however…” says the reflection again, causing Saya to look at her reflection in confusion.

“True that Hanabi’s heart belongs to someone else but our heart still belongs to her, we may never be with her but we can ensure that she stays happy. Isn’t that what we always wanted, to make her happy?”

Weakly, but surely Saya replies, “Yes…” she slowly stands up, “That is all I ever wanted…even if it shreds my heart, I want her to be happy.” 

Her reflection offered a small sad smile, “That’s good. We should return. Our sweet Hanabi needs us, now more than ever.”

\---X---

Hayabusa was not kidding when he said that Hanzo had gotten stronger over the course of time. He was practically all over the place with his new and improved skills and even with the combined efforts of the three of them, the trio were barely able to keep up with the demon ninja.

“How is this possible? Has he gotten stronger again?” yells Kagura in disbelief as Hayabusa had to once again get her out of harm’s way.

He looked even more demonic than before and he fought with furiosity like never seen before, “I have trained for this very day. I will have my revenge!” he roars, charging towards them with another set of deadly attacks.

Things were bad, very bad. But what was even worse was the fact that Hanabi herself was not able to fight properly. She was distracted, her mind still lingering upon Saya, thus she was not able to concentrate into the battle. Thus all the training, all the hard work that she had put for this very day was for nothing.

Hanzo was quick to spot her weakness and exploit it. With a devastating attack, he immediately pinned her down, earning a cry of concern from both Kagura and Hayabusa. “Hanabi!”

They both rushed to her aid but Hanzo summoned his demonic spectre and pushed them away, preventing any sort of aid for her. He then looks down at her with a sinister look, “The elf will not be able to save you today, Girl. First, I will kill you, then it will be her turn!” and so he brings up his sword.

Her whole life flashed before her eyes as the sword descended down upon her. However, just before the blade could touch her, there came a flash of light and Hanzo’s sword was stopped in its tracks.

Everyone looked in total shock as they saw that it was one of Saya’s ethereal serpents, glowing in all its glory that stopped the blade in mid air. The tall woman gritted her teeth and with little effort pushed Hanzo away from Hanabi.

Her eyes brightened upon seeing Saya, “You came back.”

A sad smile appeared upon Saya’s face, “How could I not?” not able to contain her emotions any more, Hanabi hugged Saya, asking her to never leave her like that ever again, to which the ancient Sai’ore promises sincerely, “I won’t…”

However, Hanzo could not stomach such a sight. Thus he lets out a roar and attacks. Sensing his advance, Saya pushes Hanabi away and turns back just in time to block Hanzo’s attack with her blade. Hissing like an animal, Hanzo says angrily, “I have waited far too many days for this, woman. Today I shall have my revenge!” He attacks at her and even Saya had to admit that the man had improved, making him far more dangerous. Dodging his attacks, Saya managed to push him away once again and make distance between each other. The Akuma ninja became ever more so frustrated, “Come face me, Coward!” he roars.

However, Saya just looks stoically. “It is not my right to defeat you…” she then turns to Hanabi. “It is time, Neha…” slowly, she presents a sword to Hanabi, the very sword that Saya had forged her. The Ninja’s eyes widened at this for she understands the significance of the gesture. She looks at Saya for reassurance, to which the Sai’ore nods, “You are ready. Now go forth and claim your destiny.”

Hanabi holds the sword that Saya gave her. Slowly she unsheathes the blade and looks up with determination. “I will.”

Now fuelled with a new determination and will power, Hanabi readied herself for the battle that was before her, “This is what I had trained for.”

Hanzo laughs at this, “Do you really think that this girl can defeat me? Fine, I will kill her, then I will kill you!” confident of his victory, he lungs upon Hanabi. However, Hanabi was ready.

Like she was taught, Hanabi quickly deflects the attack and does a counter attack by smashing her elbow right on his face, causing his mask to get cracks. “What?” he roars in outrage, as her two friends looked upon her with awe.

Hanabi casually gets back in her stance.

Knowing that this girl was not longer just a mere fly, Hanzo gets into his stance as well and thus a great battle commenced. Hanzo was skilled, very skilled. But Hanabi was no small fly either; she had grown a lot stronger since he last met her and he had to really get serious in this fight.

True that Hanzo had far more experience than Hanabi, but her biggest ace was the fact that the way that she fought was unlike anything he had even encountered, while Hanabi had a very good idea of the way Hanzo fights. The new and foreign way of fighting made her very unpredictable and was the main reason why she was actually getting an upper hand.

She fought hypnotically, pouring out every lesson, every teachings that Saya had taught her because all her hard works was in fact for this very moment!

“No, I cannot lose!” the Akuma ninja roars. Seeing that he certainly would not be able to win on melee combat, he took a more mystic approach. “Enough of this!” he yells and pushes Hanabi away. Suddenly he turned into his demonic form.

“Let’s see how do you like this!” now in his much powerful form, Hanabi’s physical attacks seemed almost useless. He was too fast and mobile for Hanabi to follow.

Hanabi took severe damage due to Hanzo’s technique and Saya frown seeing the state of the Ninja girl. She really wanted to intervene but Hanabi stopped her, “No I can still do this!” but alas it was easier said than done. Hanabi was in a pretty bad shape, yet she still refused to give in. 

“Let’s finish this!” Hanzo growls before hurling a river of spikes towards Hanabi. The ninja girl watched in horror as the attack moved towards her, but just when it was about to hit her, a blue umbrella appeared before her. The umbrella blocked the attack for Hanabi and suddenly Kagura appeared from under the umbrella.

“You owe me one, Hanabi-san.” She chirps happily. Hanabi smiled under her mask and replied, “That I do.”

While Hanzo stood stunned at the failed attack, Hayabus chose this to be the perfect time to attack and so he did. Hanzo barely dodged the attack and had to move backwards and revise his plan of attack, giving time for the trio from Iga to regroup.

“Together?” Hanabi asks.

“Together.” Hayabusa replies. Now with their combined efforts, they attacked.

The way they worked together was admirable, each with their own unique style, working together to compensate each other’s weaknesses and seeing such performance really made Saya proud.

However, no matter their combined efforts, no matter how many times they hit him, Hanzo was just not going down.

“This isn’t working!” Hanabi grits her teeth.

“How do we take him down when he is totally invulnerable?” yells Kagura as she jumped away from yet another attack. Hanzo laughed maniacally, “Muahaha, You cannot defeat me. You only delay the inevitable!”

They needed a plan and they needed it fast.

It was then Saya spoke out loudly, “What seems is not always as what it seems. Crush the head of the serpent and not its tail.”

Her words puzzled them all, that was until Kagura, being smartest of them all, noticed the faint train of smoke coming out of Demon Hanzo’s body. Realization hit her hard because till now; they had been fighting just the tail and not the head!

“This is the Puppeteer technique!” Kagura cries pointing at the trail of smoke. Hayabusa was quick to react and bolted towards the direction of the smoke trail led.

Hanzo understood what the young man was doing and attempted to go after him. However, his plan on stopping Hayabusa halted abruptly because Hanabi bound his demon body with Higanbana’s ultimate attack while Hayabusa went for the real body.

“No!!” Hanzo yells and immediately dispels his spiritual state. Allowing him to move once again, but rendering him vulnerable. “Shadow kill!” Hayabusa yelled and used his ultimate technique, dealing massive damage to Hanzo. Kagura jumped in too and threw her umbrella towards the Akuma, “Shogyo Mogyo!” she yells as a lotus opens under her umbrella, dealing damage to Hanzo and slowing him down considerably.

“Now is my turn!” roars Hanabi and dashed towards Hanzo. The injured Akuma ninja brought up his sword for defence but Hanabi immediately bypassed it and knocked the sword out of his grasp. Acting fast, Hanabi used her new sword to finish this all with one mighty slash.

“Hiyaaah!”

Hanzo’s eyes widened in shock. He felt his life liquid trickle down his body as he slowly fell to his knee and held his bleeding chest, “This cannot be… I am… the strongest ninja….” And thus fell the mighty Akuma ninja. It was over. They could not believe it but It was finally over!

Kagura cheered happily and tackled Hanabi with a bone crushing hug, “We did it! We actually did it Hanabi-san!!” The ninja girl chuckled and patted the petite girl’s back at this.

Then slowly Hayabusa approached them. With a smile he says, “We really did it didn’t we?”

“Yeah.” Replies Hanabi with a smile. Then she frowns, feeling a pair of eyes looking upon her from back. She turns and sees Saya looking at her, her eyes holding pain, yet still with a knowing smile, she nods.

Hanabi smiled back at this and turns back towards Hayabusa. “Yes, we did it.” Much to his surprise, Hanabi hugged him, causing him to blush furiously. But eventually he gave in and hugged back while Kagura cheered with a squeak.

Saya looked on with aching heart, but she then sees Hanabi’s face. The look of content and happiness that shined clearly upon her beautiful face. That was enough for her. To see that her human was happy and well was the greatest thing that Saya ever wanted and seeing that how she found happiness within that man’s embrace, she would not argue. It was fate that caused them to meet, it was fate that brought them closer, but it was Saya’s will to fall in love with her. She loved Hanabi, thus it was her by own will that she would let go of her. Because she loved her enough to see her happy, even if it meant she would not be a part of it.

Slowly the ancient Sai’ore turns away and looks up at the night sky. Today had been a glorious day, they had finally fulfilled their destiny. It was over.

In a new world, this was their story, this was Saya’s story. And honestly, her story is not yet over…………….

**The End**

**(Of volume 1)**


	65. Thank You all

A year passed since I have been writing this story and it was finally over. This may seem a little dramatic but this is my first and the longest story I have ever written and so it’s kinda like a very big deal for me.

Firstly I wanna thank all the friends and readers who accompanied me in this journey through the Land of Dawn. I will confess, writing was hard, especially with so many lack of feedbacks. I even thought that I should just quit, but still I carried on. I carried on for there were a few out there who would actually read my story and that itself was enough for me to keep writing.

Thus I wanna thank all of you readers once again. It would not have been possible without you all. I have enjoyed writing this story and hope you did too. It was helluva journey…………… 


	66. Epilogue

Deep in the Abyss, the situation was of total unrest. With yet another crushing defeat by the hands of the Xeno, the entirety of Abyss was in an uproar.

“How could we lose once again? Was not Selena with them as well?”

“She was but she was unable to fight on…”

“Such incompetence should not be stand; we must appeal to the abyss lord once again.”

The Abyssal council was as rowdy as ever as the Elders fought amongst themselves once again. Soon The Queen of Apocalypse entered the council chamber herself, earning a few scoffs form the rest of the Council members.

“Here she is, the Queen herself. I cannot believe we lost this war as well. It was a failure and now, we are running out of forces…”

Alice chuckled at this, making the council confused. “Who says we don’t have friends?”

As soon as she said these words, a few figures entered the chamber as well. Making the previous occupants gasp in surprised, “It’s the Night stalker!” they cry upon seeing the dark fallen angel.

“And the Queen of Necrokeep?” They gasp upon seeing the undead queen Vexanna who was present there as well.

“Do my eyes deceive me, The Lord of the Heptasea?” They mutter in disbelief upon seeing the legendary undead Pirate.

The Blood Demon Queen smiled and speaks, “See, Gentlemen? We still have friends. Powerful friends…. As for the campaign of Moniya…” Alice placed a golden scroll on the table, making them all cheer.

“Yes, there is still hope!”

“Our cause lives on!”

“What does the Sacred Knowledge say? What our next course of action?” they ask.

“I have an idea…” says Alice, opening the scroll. The ancient artefact revealed and image that made everyone of them gasp.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“By the Abyss, the legends are ture!”

“Indeed they are…” mutters Alice looking at the picture, “The Twilight orb.”…………..

**[I really do have a story mapped out for sequel. If you are interested, please do show your interest by voting and commenting to voice your opinion** **J]**


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